Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I have some sympathy in terms of the principle behind what Senator Clonan is talking about, it needs to be remembered that this agency is not just dealing with universities. It is also dealing with research more generally within the State. There are a number of amendments here where I would argue efforts are being made to amend the objects of the agency but which would actually be more appropriate to the functions or codes of practice that will be developed.

Within other legislation in this space, there are very strong safeguards around academic freedom, which is the correct place for it to be. I would certainly anticipate, in terms of any of the funding codes, that they would need to follow the principles outlined there. If one reads the objects of the agency, along with the functions that are set out, it addresses some of the concerns in this amendment and some of the others.