Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Are there any amendments in this group that are in my name only? The main changes that the Minister of State is putting forward here concern the halfway house that was originally proposed. It was very unfortunate. I do recognise the work that has been done to allay our concerns and the concerns of many within the sector, the TUI and the institutions themselves that institutions could merge, apply for technological university status and then find they did not get it. There would have been huge uncertainties there about the status of degrees or other certification and the status of the institutions themselves. This was a significant point of worry around the time this legislation came through. For the record, it was a significant point of concern and objection on the part of Fianna Fáil at the time so we are very happy that it is proposed to change this as part of these amendments. We think this is the right and sensible way to do it. On that basis, we have encouraged the Minister to proceed with the legislation and agreed to facilitate it so we welcome that and think the framework in the Bill is probably the best way to allow institutions to fulfill their ambitions to become technological universities or to achieve university status.