Ms Mary Hoade:

I am a member of Galway County Council with more than 20 years' service. I am speaking as president of the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, representing 949 city and county councillors from all 31 local authorities and from all parties and from none. The association made a substantial submission last April to the Department's consultation on the scheme of the Bill before the committee. This submission has been forwarded to each of the members through the good offices of the clerk to the committee. I hope the members have had the opportunity to read it, as it sets out our compelling case for retaining councillors on the governing bodies.

As an association of councillors, we are deeply committed to education at all levels, but the association has a particular commitment to third-level education. For more than a century, the association and its predecessor, the General Council of County Councils, has been nominating members to the governing body of University College Dublin. This statutory nomination has been paralleled by our member councils, which nominate to the governing bodies of the universities in Cork and Galway. In all, there are 25 nominees of councillors sitting on the governing bodies of universities.

The association has no issue with the general thrust of the proposed Bill in strengthening the governance framework for the third level colleges. However, it is concerned specifically with head 77, which sets out to reform the size and composition of the governing bodies. We are concerned that such reforms will eliminate the representation by public representatives on the boards of universities. It is the association’s view that there are compelling and constructive reasons for councillors to continue to serve on the governing bodies. I will highlight just three of many.

Representing the public interest on the university boards, councillors have the legitimacy to speak on behalf of the Irish public. Through their daily interaction with communities, councillors bring an awareness of the public’s views and concerns regarding higher education to the governing process.

Regarding diversity, councillors come from a range of backgrounds - rural, urban and suburban - and from a diversity of vocational backgrounds and professional competences. Such diversity is a powerful counterbalance to the corporate phenomenon of groupthink and ensures that the governing bodies benefit from diverse and challenging contributors.

Councillors are involved in all levels of the education sector, including as members of boards of primary and secondary schools, as well as being members of the education and training boards countrywide. They bring this awareness of the challenges faced by primary and secondary education to the tertiary level of education as members of the university bodies.

The short time allocated for the opening statement prevents me from elaborating further on the well-founded justification for retaining councillors on the governing bodies. There are many problems facing Irish society, including climate change, digitisation and housing, but it is only by closer co-operation, not less co-operation, between local government and the university sector that we can work towards resourcing the communities in which we live and work.

I think the members the opportunity to address the committee today and thank them for their attention.