Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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507. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to outline her views on the pressures on educational services at the National College of Art and Design as a result of graduate numbers increasing by 33% since 2010 and staff numbers having being cut by 15%; her plans to improve resource allocations to the college; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17777/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The reality of the economic situation and the public expenditure corrections which had to be made in recent years presented challenges across all areas of public expenditure, including in higher education institutions such as the National College of Art and Design (NCAD).

Higher education institutions such as NCAD are autonomous bodies and have responsibility for their own day to day affairs. However, it should be noted that according to Higher Education Authority figures, the overall (full and part-time) enrolments at NCAD has increased from 1,174 in 2009/10 to 1,224 in 2013/14 an increase of 4.2%, while a reduction in staffing numbers of 9.5%.has occurred for the same period.

An Expert Group, chaired by Peter Cassells, is currently examining future funding options for higher education. The objective is to identify a range of approaches that, combined, will achieve a sustainable funding base to address the continual expansion of the sector while protecting the quality of education.