Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the important question. We have seen significant reopening of our third level. "Reopening" is the wrong word because as we all know, it never closed. It just moved online and people worked extremely hard to provide education in that context. Some 500,000 students are in further education and training, and in higher education. It is probably the single biggest movement in reopening for adults since March 2020. I thank everybody who has worked so hard, including student unions, management bodies and public health officials, especially Dr. John Cuddihy, who provided us with public health advice. I also thank my officials, education and training boards, and everybody else. Our colleges, further education, higher education and training centres have reopened safely. So far, things are going well. Hundreds of thousands of learners have returned to on-site activity. Recent figures provided to my Department on 4 October show that the average daily student presence on campus at that point was 111,971, or 48.7% of the student population, an increase of 420% in the number of students on-site compared with October 2020. There is no doubt that there has been a significant ramp up, which I know the Deputy accepts.

I would also make the point, and I know the Deputy would agree, that it is not just about the lectures and measuring the lecture time. On the social side, the college bars, canteens, clubs and societies are all back, as are the libraries, research facilities, workshops and tutorials. It is correct that there is a difference when it comes to lectures and that is in line with public health advice. The public health advice is very clear that each institution needs to carry out a risk assessment in relation to its own situation. We should remember that on 22 October next, public health advice is likely to change again and for the better in terms of being able to mix socially. Trinity College Dublin, which has taken an approach where some lectures have remained online, has made it clear that when they return after reading week there will be much more on site. I am very happy with how it is proceeding. The general feedback I get is good. I accept that it varies from site to site but when we talk about what is happening on-site we should talk about it in the round and not just about the lectures.

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