Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)

I look forward to the report. As the Minister is aware, the position is that we are looking at a 30% per student drop in our third level system in the next four years. Last year, the Higher Education Authority, HEA, stated that between 2008 and 2011 there had been an 18% drop. Between 2008 and 2015, therefore, we are looking at approximately a 50% drop in funding per student. That will destroy our third level system.

I spoke to the head of human resources of one of the largest multinational companies in the country and he said that Irish graduates were becoming unemployable. He was talking about the decline in standard in the past ten to 15 years. He said that when the company is hiring at Masters and PhD level in Ireland it no longer advertises the jobs here. He felt that for that company's needs the quality of our Masters and PhD graduates relative to European, United States and Canadian graduates had become so unequal that they do not even advertise the jobs.

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