Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted the Deputy asked me about that. I would be very pleased to meet him and other Deputies from Border counties, including Donegal. I have had a couple of really interesting meetings in recent days regarding North-South co-operation. I met the President of Queens University in his capacity as the president of Universities Ireland, which represents all the universities on the island of Ireland. I met the leader of the SDLP, Colum Eastwood, MLA, to discuss collaboration with Derry, which I know is an issue close to the Deputy's heart in Donegal and Letterkenny. I also met Diane Dodds, MLA, Minister for the Economy, which is where higher education rests in the Northern Ireland Executive.

In the context of Brexit, there are many opportunities and a necessity to do an awful a lot more in the research and universities space. If one takes out the politics, emblems and all that from the map of the island of Ireland, there is a gaping space in the north west.

My initial view is that we need to get on with getting the application in on the Connacht-Ulster technological university, which again, I am hoping will be in by the end of the year and at the very start of 2021. We have commitments under New Decade, New Approach on the Magee campus. I would be very interested and there is potential for a cross-party consensus on how we might move ahead with higher education. Deputy Conway-Walsh and I have spoken on this also. Perhaps in the coming weeks we could have a get-together and brainstorm on this issue.

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