It is a factor, but we should know more about the reasons. I welcome the opportunity afforded by the motion to speak about the Government's efforts to promote co-operation in higher education with Northern Ireland and Britain. Co-operation in the field of education between both parts of the island and with Britain has been greatly facilitated by the establishment of the new institutions under the Good Friday Agreement.
Senators will be aware that under strand two of the Agreement education was one of the six areas identified and agreed for co-operation through the mechanism of existing bodies in each jurisdiction. To date, two meetings of the North-South Ministerial Council in education sectoral format have been held and a number of joint working groups established in relation to the following areas prioritised for action: education for children with special needs, educational underachievement, teacher qualifications and school, youth and teacher exchanges.
Unfortunately, due to prevailing political circumstances, it has not proved possible to hold a meeting of the education sector North-South Ministerial Council, NSMC, since last July. Work on this and a range of other areas, however, has been ongoing between officials from both jurisdictions in the interim and I hope circumstances will allow for the resumption of formal NSMC meetings at the earliest possible date.
The NSMC, meeting in plenary format last September, agreed to commission a study of obstacles to mobility between the two parts of the island. This study will examine the obstacles in both the public and private sectors in a wide range of areas, including education and the recognition of qualifications. The study is being taken forward by a steering group of officials from both North and South which will report to the council. My Department will contribute to the examination of obstacles which is being conducted by consultants commissioned for the purposes of the study.
Although there is no formal provision in the institutional framework established under the Good Friday Agreement for a North-South Ministerial Council on higher and further education, I have met informally with the Minister, Dr. Farren, on a number of occasions. In addition, my officials have had ongoing meetings with their counterparts in the Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment with a view to enhancing co-operation in a number of areas in our common interests. These areas have included the development of relationships between the Higher Education Authority and the Northern Ireland Higher Education Council and the role of the Conference of Rectors of Irish Universities, CRI, in promoting co-operation between the nine universities on the island.
The CRI was formed by the heads of these nine institutions in 1992 to encourage and facilitate greater North-South university collaboration. In the intervening period the CRI has worked with officials of my Department and others with a view to substantially increasing the level of co-operation within the university sector on the island. The CRI launched a directory of such collaboration in June last year. The publication demonstrates the contribution being made by the universities to increased North-South co-operation and understanding in areas as diverse as music and biochemistry.
Other areas for discussion have included research and development, enhancing links with enterprise and adult basic education. Potential areas for future discussion of collaborative initiatives might include mutual recognition of qualifications and addressing skills needs on an all-Ireland basis. The latter could involve the assessment of supply and demand for the entire island. A case could be made for consideration to be given to adopting a joint approach to high cost specialised provision.
Improved networking between researchers at university level has been facilitated by the work undertaken by the CRI and will be further facilitated by the availability of funding for collaborative activities under the national development plan. In addition, support is being made available under the NDP to enhance information networks between institutions, North and South. This will involve upgrading the link between the HEA-net and the North's JANET. It will significantly reduce response times and facilitate real time research and collaborative activities.
Uniquely, Ireland's National Development Plan and its Northern equivalent share a common chapter which has been approved in both jurisdictions. It provides an agreed context within which a number of co-operation measures may be progressed. The common chapter of the NDP acknowledges the considerable co-operation across all aspects of the education sector, North and South, including higher and further education. It recognises that the valuable linkages which have been developed provide the basis to establish more closely integrated, coherent approaches in the future with clearer policy objectives and outcomes.
The common chapter identifies the type of activities which will be promoted, including interactive approaches at university and further education level in areas such as research and development, support for small and medium enterprises and the development of lifelong learning, adult guidance and counselling programmes. In this context, funding for North-South collaborative research activities is set aside under the strategic research sub-measure – one of four education sub-measures – in the productive sector operational programme of the National Development Plan, 2000-06. The total funding allocated to North-South activities over the duration of the plan is £12 million or 15.2 million, of which £9 million is recurrent and the balance is capital. The strategic research sub-measure is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, with £1.8 million allocated towards the North-South strand.
The aim of the North-South sub-measure is to facilitate and encourage cross-Border co-operation and research between third level institutions. Discussions are ongoing with Northern officials with a view to developing a strategic approach to effecting this provision. I expect to be in a position shortly to announce details of a scheme to promote developments in this area.
There is also a significant international dimension to the programme for research in third level institutions – PRTLI. As part of cycle 3, announced in December 2000, funding will be made available for the development of strategic co-operation with leading world institutions. Support will also be made available to enable the attraction of leading international researchers and research teams.
Regarding the technological sector, there have been a number of formal meetings between the Council of Directors of Institutes of Technology and the Association of Northern Ireland Colleges – ANIC – over the past two years. These meetings focused on a range of issues of mutual interest and led to the signing of a protocol on 20 September 2000. The joint protocol has many valuable and important elements. In the context of this protocol, both organisations have agreed, inter alia, to share staff and expertise on quality assurance panels, interview panels, external examiners and substitute teachers where appropriate; investigate in joint co-operation and with other national agencies joint purchasing arrangements; share information on good practices north and south of the Border; jointly seek funding for the development of a cross-Border project on national recognition of awards in further and higher education; share expertise, in particular in vocational areas of mutual benefit; plan together skills forecasts so that the labour force of the island of Ireland has the best possible training; and share contracts and networks to the mutual benefit of both organisations.
Regular contact is maintained between the council of directors and ANIC through their respective offices and I strongly welcome the initiative of ANIC and the Council of Directors of Institutes of Technology in agreeing this protocol. I have no doubt that the outcome will be of mutual benefit to the institutions, their staff and students, North and South. In this context, my Department has approved a proposal from the council of directors to proceed with a pilot project in open and distance learning. This project will include the development of an e-business module and the council will be inviting ANIC to become involved in this element of the pilot programme.
In another example of positive action, my Department has given approval to the Sligo Institute of Technology to commence a pilot project in conjunction with Fermanagh Institute of Further Education, Enniskillen, in the area of apprenticeship provision. The intention is to provide phase 4 training in carpentry and joinery. The pilot project will commence in 2001 and will run for a three-year period. Depending on the success of the project, consideration will be given to providing further apprenticeship training blocks in other skill areas.
Many of the institutes of technology, including Athlone, Cork, Dundalk, Letterkenny and Dublin, are involved in a number of cross-Border projects with local enterprise and training agencies and with several third level educational institutions in the North such as Magee College, University of Ulster and Queens University, Belfast. A number of these institutions have accessed funding under the EU INTERREG and peace programmes.
My Department is seeking to maximise support for education initiatives under the new EU Peace II Programme, the successor to the Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation. Under the cross-Border priority of the Peace II Programme, measure 4 provides 10 million over four years, both North and South, for co-operation in the areas of higher and further education and training. Meetings between officials of my Department and the relevant Departments in the North are ongoing, with a view to identifying, in consultation with the Special EU Programmes Body and other agencies, appropriate priorities under this measure and drawing up programme complements. It is envisaged that priority areas in higher and further education should include research and development in higher education, to include e-learning, basic skills, including literacy and numeracy, enterprise education developing entrepreneurial and creative skills and retention in education, particularly of young males.
Institutional co-operation in higher education, both on a North-South basis and between Ireland and Britain, is also encouraged through other EU education programmes such as ERASMUS. I understand that for the year 1999-2000, 64 students went to the UK from Ireland, while 75 UK students came to Ireland under the programme in the same period.
As part of a general effort to promote co-operation between Ireland and Britain, a limited number of research scholarships are made available to Irish post-graduate students for study in the United Kingdom and for UK post-graduates to study in Ireland under the Ireland-Britain exchange scholarship scheme. The scheme is publicised in Britain by the Irish Embassy in London and in Ireland by the British council. For the academic year 2000-01 there are four British students studying under this scholarship scheme valued at £6,950 per annum, while 11 Irish students are studying in Britain where the value of the scheme is approximately £7,000 sterling.
In addition, the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences offers post-graduate research scholarships and post-doctoral awards in the areas of humanities, social sciences, law and business studies. These scholarships are open to applicants from EU member states, while the post-doctoral awards are open to applicants of all nationalities. The mission of the council includes the encouragement of excellence and the promotion of cross-Border co-operation in Ireland.
The flows of students between institutions in Ireland, North and South, over the five year period from 1993-94 to 1998-99 provide an interesting point of comparison. A total of 1,117 full-time students from the North were studying in the South in 1993-94, while 2,624 full-time students from the South were studying in the North in the same year. In comparison, 1,006 full-time students from the North came to study in the South in 1998-99, while 3,246 full-time students from the South were studying in the North in that period. Therefore, while there has been little difference over that five year period in the number of pupils coming to study here from the North, the number of Southern students going North to pursue their studies grew by 622, or almost 24%.
The flow of students between both jurisdictions on this island and between Ireland and Britain is facilitated by the free fees initiative and the third level student support schemes administered under the aegis of my Department by the local authorities and the vocational education committees. The third level student support schemes offer financial assistance to eligible students attending approved third level courses. Students from this State who are attending undergraduate courses in Northern Ireland can apply for maintenance grants in respect of approved courses at higher national diploma level or higher which are pursued in colleges approved for the purpose of our schemes. Maintenance grants are also made available to undergraduate students pursuing approved third level courses in other EU member states, including Britain. In general, the approved courses are those pursued in a third level institution, which is maintained or assisted by recurrent grants from public funds.
With the introduction of tuition fees in Northern Ireland, England and Wales all EU students, including Irish students, are eligible for grant assistance towards the tuition fees subject to the same conditions as apply to students who have been resident in Northern Ireland and Britain. This means that students from lower income families will receive full grant assistance towards the cost of their tuition fees. The maximum tuition fee payable in the 2000-01 academic year is £1,050 sterling. Students pursuing approved post-graduate courses in Northern Ireland can apply for assistance under the higher education grants scheme and the vocational education committees scholarship scheme in respect of maintenance grants and also grants in respect of the cost of their tuition fees, subject to a maximum fee limit, which is currently IR£3,064.
Tax relief has been available for tuition fees paid for full-time qualifying undergraduate courses in publicly funded universities or similar third level colleges in any EU member state, including Northern Ireland, since 1999-2000. The Finance Act, 2000, provided for the introduction of tax relief for post-graduate fees paid in publicly funded colleges here and in other EU member states, as well as in private colleges in the State. This relief, which is available for the tax year 2000-01 onwards, applies at the standard rate of tax and is available to full-time and part-time post-graduate students.
Under the free fees initiative, tuition fees are payable in respect of eligible EU nationals who have been ordinarily resident in a member state for at least three of the five years preceding entry to a third level course. This condition applies to all EU nationals in accordance with the judgment of the European Court of Justice that access to vocational training must apply equally to all EU nationals. EU nationals who are ineligible under the free fees initiative can apply for a means tested fees-only grant in respect of approved courses in third level institutions in this State subject to certain conditions.
Apart from the maintenance grants schemes and the free fees initiative, financial support is also available to students through the student assistance access fund. This fund is administered by third level institutions and provides direct financial support to disadvantaged students. I increased significantly the provision for this fund from £1.296 million in 1999 to £1.964 million in 2000. The fund is allocated annually among approved colleges and institutes and all students registered with the approved colleges may apply for assistance from this fund, irrespective of nationality.
Under the special fund for students with disabilities, allocations are given towards the provision of services and the purchase of equipment for such students who attend courses in third level institutions or post-leaving certificate courses. The scheme applies to students who have serious sensory, physical or communicative disabilities. Grants are provided to students for the purchase of special equipment, special materials, technological aids, targeted transport services, sign language assistance such as interpreters and personal assistants.
In 2000 I approved an allocation of £1,233,000 for the fund, a significant increase of £700,000 on the allocation for 1999. In the current academic year 512 students are being assisted from the fund and an allocation of over £84,000 has been made from the overall funding to students from here who are currently registered on courses in Britain and Northern Ireland. Students from Northern Ireland, who are registered in a third level institution or a post-leaving certificate course here, are eligible to apply for and receive aid from this fund.
Senators will agree that this summary of provision for students from here who are studying in Northern Ireland and Britain, and for students from Northern Ireland and Britain who come here to study, represents a generous package of measures to facilitate students to attend the third level institution of their choice here, in Northern Ireland or in Britain. I have set out the broad range of activities currently taking place to promote co-operation in this sector. I favour the maximising of co-operation in education on this island and with Britain, with a view to ensuring the highest quality of provision and the broadest range of opportunity. I am anxious to promote the mobility of pupils, students, academic staff and researchers on the island. I am confident the steps taken to date will provide a solid foundation for achieving these objectives. I will continue to explore the possibilities for further extending co-operation in the third level and wider education sectors in the context of available resources.
Some of the points Senators have made are relevant, for example, we will have to look closely at how courses are advertised to ensure what is available is fully understood. Universities are very keen in that regard as they seek to attract students from Northern Ireland and further abroad. They pursue candidates widely, as do universities in the United Kingdom who particularly target undergraduate students. There is a big scramble to get good research graduates for post-doctoral work which I agree must be encouraged on a North-South basis. This debate will serve as a reminder to me to do more in that area.
