asked the Minister for Education (a) the date on which the Commission on Higher Education held its first meeting, (b) the date on which it held its last meeting, (c) the reason why the Commission Report was not issued in 1965, and (d) the reason for the delay in issuing the Report.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Commission on Higher Education.
66.
(a) The Commission on Higher Education held its first plenary meeting on 8 November, 1960; (b) its most recent plenary meeting took place on 17 December, 1965; (c) the Commission's report was not completed in 1965; (d) I indicated in reply to a question from the Deputy on 21 October, 1965, that there was no avoidable delay in the matter, and that the Commission was pressing forward with the drafting of its report as speedily as the extensive and complex character of the subject allowed; this is still the position.
As I said in reply to a similar question from the Deputy on 2 February, 1966, every effort is being made to complete the report as soon as possible this year.
To put these replies in their proper context, I should add that the Commission and its committees have so far spent a total of 267 days on their work. I understand that the Commission has reached conclusions on all major questions that emerged from its terms of reference and now meets in full session only to consider the draft report as it proceeds. The drafting of the report has been entrusted to a special committee which meets at frequent intervals; it last met on 15 March and is meeting again to-day. While it had been hoped that it might be possible to complete the report in 1965, it was found in the event that the development of a report on the basis of the conclusions reached would take longer than had been expected. There is no delay in the matter and drafting of the report is being pressed forward assiduously.