Fergus O'Dowd
Ceist:500 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Science the steps he will take to deal with the increase in demand for third level places; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8760/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 23 February 2010
Ceisteanna (442)
Freagraí scríofa
The increasing demand for higher education is a very positive development in the context of Ireland's objectives for developing the ‘Smart Economy', which will rely heavily on a well educated, skilled labour force.
The number of applications received by the CAO by 1st February for the 2010/11 academic year is up approximately 6% on 2009. This increase is broadly in line with expectations and is in line with the increase seen the previous year.
Higher education institutions have been responding to the increasing demand through increasing the number of places they offer. In this regard, CAO acceptances in 2009/10 were up 8.3% on the previous year.
My Department will continue to work with the sector, through the Higher Education Authority, in monitoring demand and in identifying opportunities to maximise the use of available resources in responding to growing demand. The High Level Group which I have established to develop a new national strategy for higher education is also examining how well the system is performing, how it ranks internationally, how well existing resources are being used and how the system should be configured to best meet the many challenges it faces over the next decade, including a significant increase in demand. I expect this Group to complete its work before the Summer.