Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While I always feel obligated to say the universities are autonomous, I do not wish to sound that I intend in any way, shape or form to be a bystander on this matter. They are autonomous but they are also funded heavily by the taxpayer. We have a right as an Oireachtas to have a policy view on this. Deputy Conway-Walsh asked about a sustainable funding model and there will be a list of reforms we can legitimately say, from a public policy perspective, we would like to see addressed. The pathway from further education and training to higher education is an obvious one. There are some genuinely good examples but nursing is an underdeveloped pathway.

As I go around the country, I have identified areas where there could be significant improvement. The Deputy can be sure my officials, as they engage on the global numbers for nursing and midwifery this year, will want to increase it again, as we have in the past two years. We will genuinely give focus to this. As we sit down to have the conversation about sustainable funding models, this will be a key reform request on our side of the table.

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