Mr. Lewis Purser:

The IUA would be supportive of the one-stop shop idea and our members would be happy to contribute to it. As I mentioned, there are things happening, including the change in equivalencies, but unless there are well-structured and persistent communications around that with supporting materials and collateral for the professionals on the ground, it will take a while for the message to reach home. The earlier students start thinking about the possibility of travelling South or North, the better. Transition year is when much of the guidance begins to kick in in schools. There are opportunities in this regard. Perhaps we could work with the Institute of Guidance Counsellors to see what would be of use to it and its counterpart body in Northern Ireland.

I echo the feeling that there is significant additional mileage to be got out of shared research partnerships. When calls went out a couple of years ago for the North-South research programme, many went unfunded. There is scope to expand those that did lead to funding and are already working well. Some of the issues involved could be taken up by the new research agency, to be called “Research Ireland”, which is currently in formation in Ireland, with its counterparts in the UK.