I am pleased to note that Senator MacSharry will remain on the committee.

I welcome the first ever higher education system performance report, which was published yesterday. It notes that half of those aged between 30 and 34 years have third level qualifications, the highest proportion in Europe; Irish universities are in the top 1% of research institutions in the world across 18 academic disciplines; Ireland is first in the world in terms of the availability of skilled labour; we have the fourth highest percentage of mathematics, science and computing graduates in the European Union; and 75% of Irish employers are satisfied with graduate skills.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

This is a very important result because the education system has been criticised repeatedly in recent years. I congratulate the Higher Education Authority and its affiliate colleges on rising to the challenges they faced.