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

The performance of Irish higher education institutes, HEIs, varies widely in the different ranking systems. This variance clearly demonstrates that caution should be taken in the interpretation of individual placement of HEIs to determine overall quality. In the latest published Times Higher Education world university rankings, Ireland again has two of its seven universities featuring in the top 200, or top 1%, out of 15,000 universities worldwide. Analysis done by the Irish Universities Association shows that this places Ireland seventh in the world for the number of higher education institutes in the top 200 per head of population. Only 26 countries worldwide, out of a total of approximately 195, have universities within the top 200.

Some countries invest heavily in elite institutions. Our focus in this country with the policy of the Department of Education and Science is on advancing performance across an accessible and diverse system of institutions. As a result Ireland is ranked first in the European Union and fourth in the OECD for tertiary attainment rates among 25 to 34 year olds, which also pays dividends for Ireland's competitiveness.

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