Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which sufficient third level places remain available to meet the current and on-going demand; if he foresees any and changes in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51585/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Ireland currently performs very strongly in terms of participation in higher education and has the highest tertiary attainment rate among 25-34 year olds in the European Union. The number of full time enrolments is shown in the following table.

Full Time Student Enrolments:

*provisional enrolment figures

Projections published by my Department in June of this year on www.education.ie show that the demand for higher education in Ireland is set to grow by 16% by 2020. While welcome, the scale of projected growth will present major challenges for Ireland's higher education system in ensuring that student numbers can be accommodated in a sustainable way that does not compromise high quality outcomes. The National Strategy for Higher Education makes a number of recommendations for system development, flexibility, efficiency and change aimed at supporting sustainable growth while protecting quality. Implementation of strategy recommendations is underway and a progress report is available on www.education.ie.