Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is entirely right. I really welcome the fact that Universities Ireland has now set up a group specifically to look at what I call CAO reform. It is chaired by the excellent Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh from the Deputy's parish, Galway. It is due to report by the end of the year. It is a matter for the group, but I stand full ready to support it with funding or whatever else. There are now ring-fenced places in Northern Ireland for students from this jurisdiction. Why can there not be the same in reverse? Student mobility is key not only in terms of educational access but also in terms of building peace and prosperity and getting to know one another better on the island of Ireland. I will work with the Deputy closely on that.

As regards the project at Magee, the current enrolment number on UU's Derry campus is 5,227 students. I am informed that, with planned programme offerings, it is estimated that planned growth using existing infrastructure can reach only 6,000. As part of its campus master plan, increasing UU's estate infrastructure is a prerequisite to growing student numbers, and UU envisages a staged growth to 6,560 students at the Derry campus by September 2026.

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