Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to speak to amendments Nos. 12, 21 and 28. We oppose the term "value for money" because institutional autonomy means making choices on what does or does not constitute value. For the HEA to be tasked with securing and evidencing value for money is not practically achievable or appropriate. Transparency is not negotiable but dictating what represents value for money could potentially infringe institutional autonomy. It is not always easy to draw a line between education, research and beneficial outcomes for society but we know that all evidence internationally shows that strong and independent institutions provide the best education and research outcomes. On amendment No. 21, again we oppose the term "value for money" because institutional autonomy means making choices on what does or does not constitute value for money. Amendment No. 28 is again about how we quantify value for money and that is why we think that substituting: "full accountability" is more suitable.