Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I thank Senator Norris for sharing time and welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, to the House. I am pleased the points Senators raise will receive a hearing and look forward to raising several further points.

In December I raised the decision by Fáilte Ireland, based on a change in administration, to arrange for subsequent courses in hospitality training to be handled by institutes of technology which do not recognise the leaving certificate applied. The Minister of State will have heard me speak previously on the leaving certificate applied examination. Some years ago, I had the honour of chairing the committee which established this highly successful system. The proposed change means hundreds of students who will sit leaving certificate applied examinations in June this year will not be eligible for entry to Fáilte Ireland catering and tourism courses. The awards given for the leaving certificate applied examinations — distinction, merit and pass — are not recognised for CAO points but admission to most of the agency's courses will move to the CAO this year. Guidance councillors throughout the country argue that this change could discourage students who are not suited to the traditional leaving certificate from staying in school and taking the leaving certificate applied option.

In 2009, approximately 3,200 school leavers pursued the leaving certificate applied examination. In my experience, this examination is highly suited to students who wish to take courses in subjects such as retail and hospitality. The examination does not measure their ability to write down in three hours what they have learned in two years of study but uses different means, including continuous assessment, to measure their abilities, talents, skills and intelligence. One example of the benefits of the examination is its focus on oral as opposed to written communication skills. It would be a shame if talented, intelligent students were unable to pursue the courses provided by Fáilte Ireland as a result of the decision to transfer them to the institutes of technology which only recognise CAO points. I urge the Minister to address this issue as soon as possible.

Ireland is not the only country to experience a massive increase in demand for university places. In the United Kingdom a boom in demand has meant the British Government can no longer afford to fund university places with the result that approximately 160,000 people were recently denied places in universities.

A reappraisal of the higher education system in 21st century Ireland is required. When universities were established, information could only be distributed in books and lectures. Senator Norris touched on this issue in another context. Given that lecture notes and tutorials can now be delivered electronically, is it still necessary for large numbers of students to go to a physical place for lectures? Surely it is possible to make massive savings and eliminate inefficiencies. It is argued that in this respect the private sector is more innovative in designing higher education courses and more flexible in providing them than the public sector. There is little doubt that the private sector can provide high quality qualifications. The University of Phoenix, North America's largest private education provider, has increased enrolments from 384,000 to 455,000 in the past year. I gather this has been done without an increase in physical buildings. They are able to use electronic means of communicating and lecturing. Perhaps we are not doing enough to promote education by the private sector in this country. I urge the Minister of State to give some thought to this. It could be started by having stronger regulations in the area. Perhaps employers should also get more of a say on what they might consider as desirable attributes instead of completely relying on the academic scene. This is not to say there should not be education for education's sake. If higher education were driven by businesses, they would fail to understand how philosophy graduates such as Barack Obama and George Soros could earn a living.

I believe we must consider education in a different way. Let us not assume the only way is through the traditional books and lectures in physical buildings. We can learn in other ways. However, we must try to have a debate on how the private sector can make a very worthwhile contribution to education in this country. Let us avail of the opportunity for private education, which we do not do sufficiently. We also need to take action on the leaving certificate applied programme so those students who study for tourism and the hospitality sector are not debarred because of the new system.