Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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42. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the work of the European Commission and the consultants appointed by the Directorate General for Structural Reform Support that are aiming to investigate methods of increasing the sustainability of higher and further education provision in Ireland. [41757/20]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister provide an update on the work of the European Commission's Directorate General for Structural Reform Support, which aims to investigate methods of increasing the sustainability of higher and further education provision in Ireland? As the Minster will know, this question is an important one. The sector needs a sustainable long-term trajectory, a need which Covid-19 has only reinforced. When can we expect to see developments in this regard?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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This is an important question on an issue that has perhaps been overlooked or messed around with politically for far too long. The previous Oireachtas decided on another review, so an all-party committee got together, looked at the Cassells report and asked for an economic evaluation. That is the process the Deputy is asking me about.

The development of a sustainable funding model is essential in light of the centrality of further and higher education to our progress as a country, which applies now more than ever. Against the backdrop of rapid technological change, the future development of Ireland as an inclusive society and a knowledge economy will be critically dependent on the quality of our graduates.

We do not want anyone to be locked out of society or out of our economy and we need to make sure everyone is prepared for this.

In that context a comprehensive economic evaluation of the funding options presented in the report of the expert group on future funding for higher education is under way and is supported, as Deputy O'Sullivan said, under the European Commission DG REFORM programme. My Department is working closely with the European Commission and the independently appointed consortia of consultants. The key aim of this review is to investigate methods of increasing the sustainability of higher and further education provision in Ireland, including an examination of the funding options. This review commenced early this year, and work is now expected to be complete towards the end of quarter 1 of next year. My Department will continue to work with stakeholders on this comprehensive analysis of funding options for higher education and the assessment of the appropriate balance in provision across the tertiary education system. Completion of this work will allow for an informed debate on the appropriate policy approach to future planning and funding of higher and further education provision, which, as I said, is fundamental to Ireland's economic and social sustainability.

I look forward to keeping the Deputy informed. I am aware of his interest in this area. I expect we will have the outcome of the report at the end of quarter 1 of 2021.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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While I know the Minister has been in situfor only a period of months, this issue has been dragging on for a number of years. The Commission was first asked to help with this work back in October 2018. The expert group started its work in 2014 to identify and consider issues related to the long-term sustainable funding of higher education in Ireland and to identify funding options for the future. The programme for Government commits to developing a long-term sustainable funding model for higher level education in collaboration with the sector and informed by recent and ongoing research and analysis. This work, which is an extension of the Cassells report of 2016, will be vital in achieving this. In some ways this report will dictate many of the Minister's actions in reforming the system in the longer term. Following the completion of this work, will the Minister provide us with an indication of what will happen next? Can we expect to see this work published to inform future debate?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Not to pre-empt the outcome of the report, but it is absolutely my intention to publish it, to engage with the Oireachtas on it and, ultimately, to bring proposals to the Government. I want to settle this question. I agree with the Deputy that this has been going on for a very long time. The Taoiseach had a very clear view on the need to attach a centrality of focus to further and higher education. This is why he established this Department, and I am determined we do just that. We have not been standing still since the Cassells report. This Government and the previous one have taken a number of measures to try to increase planned investment in higher education. For example, we are spending 25% more on higher education this year than we did in 2016. That is an amount in the order of an additional €370 million, bringing total funding for the sector this year to €1.87 billion, up from €1.5 billion in 2016.

We need to settle this question. We need the data, the economic evaluation and the debate and then we need to make a decision.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am concerned that the future debate in this area will be distorted. We need to ensure a public understanding of the two separate issues which need to be addressed. The first is costs for students. It is welcome that the Minister has announced a review of SUSI. That will be important in ensuring that the support system in place will be able to meet students' demands. The second issue is the sustainability of the sector itself, keeping the doors open to these students, keeping talent in place and ensuring that Ireland contributes on the international stage. We know that these issues tend to be conflated but they are separate issues. Some of the parties opposite made no additional provision for the sustainability of the sector in their recent manifestos. If the Government were to deliver such an approach, it could be very damaging to the sector. Will the Minister speak to this and to the need to address both issues, that is, cost and sustainability, in the years ahead?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Again, I do not wish to pre-empt the outcome of the report. I have said before on the record of the House that I do not favour the model in place in Northern Ireland and do not want to see our students coming out of college laden with debt. I do not want to see the fear or perception of debt being a barrier to access for certain families either. I am very pleased we have the SUSI review under way. This is something one will never hear anybody say, but 44% of students attending higher education today have their registration fees paid in full or in part by SUSI. We are now spending, I think, more than €350 million a year on student supports in addition to the figure of €1.87 billion I mentioned that is being spent on higher education. When the two are added together, we are investing more than €2 billion in higher education each and every year. However, it is certainty of funding the sector craves as well as knowing what the funding model is. We already have a model whereby our employers contribute through a levy and a model whereby much Exchequer funding goes in and is matched by some of the registration fee. I really hope the economic evaluation will be able to present us with real options. The Deputy is right that we will need an honest debate. That is why we need to facilitate publication of the data and the information and that honest debate.