Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Department is working closely with the European Commission and the independently appointed consultants on this matter. The 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 is fundamental to Ireland's economic sustainability. The universal costing system and the work being done on it will lay the foundations for how to fund the sector fairly and equitably across universities and technological institutes. To be fair to the Minister and the Minister of State, that is what the Department is focusing on at the moment, because if we do not invest, it will not work at all. It is a broken system.