Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

I second the amendment, which is good and sound in nature. This is a very important new departure for the Department in the context of the establishment of the qualifications and quality assurance authority. There are thousands of students throughout the country, and Ireland will only prosper through having people who are well qualified and who are ready to undertake the challenges on offer within the private and public sectors. In that context, the needs of students must be recognised. I appreciate the Minister of State's proposal to the effect that there will be one student representative on the board of the new authority. However, I am of the opinion there should be two such representatives in order that a broader viewpoint might be put forward on behalf of students. In view of the fact we have both universities and institutes of technology, appointing two representatives might ensure the scope of student opinion on the authority would be more diverse.