Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Is the report the Minister referred to the report that was promised by the former Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan?

I will deal with accessibility first. Is it not a fact that there are still important areas of the country, such as the Minister's constituency and mine, where there are postal districts in which third level take-up is still less than 20%? In areas of mid-west Dublin, it is the same situation. What immediate steps is the Minister taking to try to redress that?

It has been estimated that the third level sector is about a €1 billion short of the necessary funding. Many lecturers - something like 75% - are not full-time employees. In that context, what is the Minister's attitude towards the expert group on the future funding of higher education, which proposed income-contingent student loans based on the Australian model? I would be strongly opposed to that. I believe in Exchequer funding in this regard. What does the Minister propose to do?

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