Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 48, 59 and 76 together.

Universities and institutes of technology are autonomous statutory bodies and the recruitment of students and the establishment of admissions criteria are matters for the individual institutions concerned. The institutions have delegated to the CAO the task of processing applications for admission to first year undergraduate courses, including from students in Northern Ireland. The Department has no role to play in relation to the operation of the CAO system. Quality and Qualifications Ireland, the new standards body, is responsible for assisting individuals generally in having their academic qualifications recognised by relevant organisations but does not, and cannot, become involved directly in the admissions policies of universities.

The following table indicates the percentage of third level students from Northern Ireland enrolled in publicly funded higher education institutions since the 2007-08 academic year. A full data set is not available for the preceding years. Very small numbers of students from Northern Ireland enrol in higher education institutions in the South compared to the numbers of such students who apply through the CAO. While 882 applications from Northern Ireland students were received through the CAO in 2011, only 168 students subsequently enrolled in programmes. The proportion of Northern Ireland students enrolling each year since 2007-08 has remained at approximately 0.5%.

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