Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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1334. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the policy initiatives his Department supports to protect academic freedom in third level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27069/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The principle of academic freedom is a cornerstone of high-quality higher education and research throughout the world.

Ireland has among the highest statutory protections in its sectorial legislation for academic freedom in Europe. Academic freedom is provided for in section 14 of the Universities Act, 1997 section 10 of the Technological Universities Act, 2018 and section 5A of the Institutes of Technology Act 1992 to 2006. The Higher Education Authority Act 2022 also includes the following Object of the HEA: “to respect the academic freedom of higher education providers and academic staff in those providers;”

These legislative provisions ensure there is a statutory basis for the academic freedom of universities, technological universities and institutes of technology in the conduct of their affairs and the academic freedom of the academic staff in those institutions. Each university, technological university and institute of technology has an academic council which governs the academic affairs of the higher education institution including the curriculum of and instruction and education provided by the university.

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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1335. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the measures his Department is taking to support students experiencing sexual, verbal or physical harassment at third level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27070/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Tackling sexual violence and harassment has been and will continue to a particular policy priority for me and my Department. In fact, one of the very first actions I took after my appointment as Minister in 2020 was to write to all publicly funded higher education institutions outlining my commitment to tackling sexual violence and harassment in higher education and requesting that institutions take a number of actions in this area, including the development of institutional action plans on tackling sexual violence and harassment. All publicly-funded institutions now have such action plans in place.

Significant progress has been made regarding the Framework for Consent in Higher Education, since it was first launched in 2019. The Framework aims to ensure the creation of an institutional campus culture which is safe, respectful and supportive. As part of monitoring requirements moving forward, the HEA requires that institutions, in respect of both staff and students, report progress annually on implementation of the Framework for Consent.

My Department has provided support for a number of consent awareness raising and training initiatives in the HEIs, including the:

NUIG Active* Consent Programme;

UCC Bystander Training;

Speak Out report and support online platform; and

The ESHTE Toolkit and It Stops Now Campaign led by the NWC in conjunction with USI.

My Department is also partnering with the Department of Justice and the NUIG Active* Consent programme to support the development of an online hub that will provide, for the first time, an integrated, publicly available resource on sexual consent awareness and learning, which will be an important resource for our further and higher education institutions and the wider community.

My Department continues to work closely with the Department of Justice in this key policy area and has provided a number of actions for inclusion in the Third Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence Strategy which my colleague Minister McEntee published last June.

I fully support the core principle underpinning the new strategy that we must take a zero tolerance approach. Everyone is entitled to a safe environment to study and work free from violence and harassment, and that informs the policy approaches and interventions that have been adopted across the sector.

The Deputy will be aware that there is a Programme for Government (PfG) commitment to ensure that every “Higher Education Institution commissions a survey for all staff and students on harassment, sexual harassment, and bullying, with a view to informing their equality, diversity and inclusion action plans.” The survey reports of staff and students’ experiences of sexual violence and harassment in Irish higher education institutions were published in January 2022

Last October, I launched a new Implementation Plan 2022-2024 to address issues regarding sexual violence and harassment in higher education institutions (HEIs). The Implementation Plan 2022-2024 responds directly to the recommendations, which emerged from the national surveys.

I have also secured an additional €1.5 million to support the appointment of 17 Sexual Violence and Harassment (SVH) Prevention and Response Managers in our HEIs in 2023. These new posts, which are expected to be in place for the start of the next academic year, will further enhance the implementation of measures aimed at eradicating issues of sexual violence and harassment in our HEIs.

With regard to issues of bullying, I published the report on the national survey of staff experiences of bullying in Irish HEIs last August. I intend to publish a report on the national survey of students’ experiences of bullying in Irish higher education institutions in the coming weeks.

The creation of an institutional campus culture in each of our higher education institutions which is safe, respectful and supportive, is a key priority for me. I will continue to lead the way on institutional change, championing the changes required to achieve a cultural norm where bullying and sexual harassment are not tolerated.