evidence: The analysis of student flows between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in higher education has just been published jointly by the Republic's Department of Education and Skills (DES) and Northern Ireland's Department for the Economy (DfE). It shows that the number of students from the Republic of Ireland studying at higher education institutions in Northern Ireland fell from 3,520 in 2011/12 to 2,195 in 2015/16 - a 38% decrease. [...] However, with around 235,000 higher education enrolments in the Republic in 2017/18, Northern Irish students make up just over half a per cent of the student body.