Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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66. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to encourage cross-border studying. [42205/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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In late 2012 and early 2013, the Department and the Department of Education in Northern Ireland undertook a joint survey of current and future schooling capacity and need in Border regions, the level of demand from parents and young people for primary and secondary schools across the Border, and how obstacles may be removed. The findings of the survey and any policy implications arising will be considered when the education Ministers meet at the North-South Ministerial Council on 1 November next.

Undergraduate programmes in the universities and institutes of technology are open to students from Northern Ireland, who can apply for a place through the Central Applications Office, CAO, system. These students are entitled to access the free fees scheme on the same basis as Irish nationals. Lest I confuse anyone, the free fees scheme is the State scheme. It is the student charge that now stands at €2,500 at present. The three Border region institutes of technology, located in Letterkenny, Sligo and Dundalk, are co-operating to create greater awareness in the North of the programmes on offer. The Department is also encouraging them to collaborate with nearby Northern Ireland colleges and universities to explore how provision might be combined or rationalised to the benefit of the student population in their catchment areas.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister and I look forward to his discussions with the relevant Minister on 1 November. In respect of the postgraduate schemes, SUSI currently covers students studying in the Six Counties, but beyond the postgraduate system, I believe there is no undergraduate support. Is this a matter the Minister is considering or is it something that simply will be contained within the overall discussions he intends to hold with the Minister in the North?

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I will give two brief replies. First, in respect of the primary and secondary sectors, both the Minister, Mr. John O'Dowd, and I are open to the idea that families on either side of the Border, for whatever reason, should be free to send their child or children not necessarily to a school closest to them but to the school to which they wish to send their child or children. In such a scenario, an account resolution process, so to speak, would be carried out at the end of the calendar year. While that has not yet been finalised, that is the process. Although we are unsure as to what will be the likely take-up, it is another part of the barrier on this island that should be reduced and then people are free to make a decision themselves as to what they want to do.

The position at third level is more complicated because access to institutions in the South is through the Cental Applications Office, CAO, system, based on the best points from six subjects, as the Deputy will be aware, whereas the new GCSE system in the North is different where there are two or perhaps three subjects that get A stars and the others are at a lower level. There is an ongoing debate between the chambers of commerce and enterprise co-operation, North and South, on the equivalent value of six subjects in the South to the A stars. We do not control that as it is is a matter for the Irish Universities Association. There are disputes over the approximate or relevant qualification and the discussions are ongoing. We believe that is a factor in reducing the number of Northern Ireland students coming south of the Border and studying in the Republic.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister's comments on the primary and post-primary sector. I presume the new admissions Bill will reflect the willingness to allow parents who have children in Border areas to access education, whether it be across the Border in the Six Counties or in the South, and that such access will not be an issue for students who live in the North and who may wish to be schooled in the South.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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I also welcome the Minister's comments. Does he accept that it is sensible and wise to develop the broader issue of cross-Border study, not only in the education area but in the economic area and in terms of developing the peace process on the island? The development of North-South co-operation seems to have gone off the boil and I have concerns about that because it is important. Education has a crucial role to play in that. Will the Minister and his counterpart, the Minister, Deputy O'Dowd, develop this further because education on the island is important in terms of human interaction and in terms of developing the economy of the island?

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I welcome the Deputy's comments and I am broadly in agreement with the thrust of them. The peace process must be constantly nurtured, embedded and deepened. Cross-Border student exchange in terms of people from the South going to study and live in the North and vice versa is one of the ways of doing that. Sadly, while the number of applicants from the North to colleges in South has increased by more than 40%, as I am informed from my briefing note, although the numbers are still very low, Northern Ireland accounted for less than 2%, 1.7% to be specific, of all CAO applications.

There are issues, as I indicated in an earlier reply, about the equivalent value of a GCSE qualification as against our leaving certificate subject qualifications. I am happy to open a discussion on it. We could list it as a topic for discussion with the IUA, or the committee may well do that, but that is their system. While my predecessor, Mary Coughlan, persuaded the CAO to award an extra 25 bonus points for honours level mathematics, there is no indication that they are prepared to make an equivalent value for the Northern Irish leaving certificate system as against our own.