Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 233: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the potential savings that can be made through enhanced cooperation and sharing of resources between higher education institutions north and south. [36821/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Government is committed to driving reforms to radically reduce costs across the public service whilst improving service and strengthening the fiscal position of the economy. The Higher Education sector in particular has a strong track record in establishing shared services and some of these are now well established brands, including HEAnet and the CAO. There are a number of projects underway in the sector in the south including the increased use of aggregated and shared procurement which are delivering savings for the institutions. There is also significant potential for further cost savings and efficiencies through greater collaboration with institutions in Northern Ireland. At the recent North South Ministerial meeting in June, Ministers discussed the importance of co-operation on third level education, taking account of the likely increase in student mobility between both jurisdictions and the importance of continuing collaborative action between third level institutions to assist with cost savings and also in the area of research and development activities. My Department is working with counterparts in Northern Ireland to progress work in this area.