Sean Barrett (Independent)

It is always a pleasure to welcome the Minister to the House. He bubbles over with ideas in education. The Minister stated that concerns have been highlighted by higher education industry interests indicating that students are not acquiring the skills they need to be autonomous learners or to cope with the demands of the knowledge society. I offer a word of caution because it was adults who destroyed this country, not the children. Some of the comment from people in higher education is patronising to say the least. The Minister and I have attended student meetings at which the best speakers were the students, not the esteemed figures of Irish higher education. Their goal appears to be to avoid contact with students. The Comptroller and Auditor General has pointed out that higher education is remarkably expensive and that the highest paid people in third level education in Ireland have nothing to do with students.