Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Well, there you go. I am relieved to hear the Senator sits on one. Through ministerial appointments, we have a chance to send a message about this issue, and we have to do so. We know about it now, and nobody can claim ignorance or say they did not know. There is a real issue here and we have a chance to resolve it. It is cultural, but it is also a matter of every parent in Ireland wanting to know that when their child goes to college, they are safe. If we get this right, it will be reputationally enhancing for the institutions, not the other way around. Parents will want their kids to go somewhere where they will be safe and respected; students will want to go there themselves. Hearing from some of the people I have, like Dr. Louise Crowley in UCC who runs the by-stander programme, and Dr. Pádraig MacNeela in NUI Galway who runs the active consent programme, there are real leaders in this area, and the USI has led. I would welcome the committee's view on what should be included in action plans and how we should be monitoring them, so it could help play an oversight role in that regard.