Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I know the Minister cannot necessarily direct institutions but he does give them money and could attach a few conditions to that. I agree with him that we need to think differently about education and learn something from the pandemic. Indeed, the idea of having an institution without walls is something I am particularly attracted to. However, the fact is that issues in respect of renting, the accommodation problems students are facing and disability were overcome in a way which showed a lot of ingenuity, forward thinking and thinking outside the box. That is what we always want our institutions to do. Will the Minister proactively interact with all the institutions of further and higher education to ensure that they have thought about every opportunity to break down those walls and that they will not say, in a post-pandemic era, that those solutions are a thing of the past? They have to be brought into the next phase.

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