Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is significant investment in third level education by the Government. Participation rates continue to increase. We have perhaps one of the highest participation rates in third level education across the European Union and we have one of the highest completion rates for second level.

The first priority has to be to make sure that our third level institutions have adequate core funding to ensure a quality education for all those who access third level. There is a gap there, which was shown in the recent report the Minister received. There is a significant gap in terms of what the universities and the institutes of technology require. We need to narrow that gap in terms of core funding in our third level institutions.

Second, we need to reform the student grant scheme, as we can and if resources permit, in the context of ensuring access, especially for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. In particular, postgraduate education needs to be made more accessible from a cost perspective.

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