Colum Eastwood has welcomed confirmation the total number of students studying at Magee has increased by 22 per cent since the Executive was restored.

Increasing student numbers to provide local young people with opportunities to study, live and work in Derry has been a key priority for him as Foyle MP, he said.

Mr. Eastwood commented: “I am really glad that we're seeing a marked increase in student numbers in Derry. Expanding our university has been a priority for me because it creates opportunities for young people to live, work and make a life for themselves here but also because it attracts talent, jobs and investment to the city.

"That’s why I secured the commitment to at least 10,000 students in the New Decade New Approach talks and it’s why I fought hard for the GEMS.

"We do need to be honest though that we aren’t at 10,000 students yet so there is still a significant amount of work to do. And we need to be careful - there does seem to be a view from the Executive that reaching that number would be ‘job done’ - it isn’t.

“The goal is to get to 10,000 students at a minimum so that we can provide opportunity for a whole generation of young people who will be able to make Derry their home.

"We have to be ambitious about this, our city has suffered from a lack of investment and imagination from government for far too long. This is a chance to put some of that historic underinvestment right.”