Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Conway-Walsh and Ó Ríordáin for their contributions. I wish to be clear in respect of wanting to develop, enhance and protect a public higher education system. Deputy Ó Cathasaigh referenced the funding discussions on how to sustainably fund higher education. I intend to bring proposals to Cabinet, likely this month, in that regard. I look forward to coming back here to debate that. My proposals will robustly address that commitment to properly support and fund a public higher education system.

I do, however, need to make a couple of brief points. Deputy Conway-Walsh referred to her engagement with my officials on this issue. It is important that there is a pathway in the Bill for an institution to seek to become a public institution, or a designated institution in the first instance. I know the Deputy and I do not disagree on this. I am not trying to suggest that we do. There are institutions, however, such as Mary Immaculate College and the National College of Ireland, that do not currently have clear legislative pathways in respect of how they become a designated higher education institution, HEI. It is important that we do not have to come back to primary legislation every time that happens because this is a sector that is evolving and changing. That is the policy intent behind the pathway - no more and no less.

Deputy Conway-Walsh is correct. There are occasions when funding is provided to private and not-for-profit higher education institutions. In fairness, she acknowledged that such funding is generally competitive funding. If I withdrew that funding, I think she would give out to me because it is generally provided for very good reasons. It is provided where we identify a sectoral challenge or issue. It could relate to a specific group - I do not like the word "cohort" - of students in a certain region or a certain grouping such as disadvantaged students. It is generally done where there is a need to respond quickly to an emerging issue. I could reference specific examples - I am sure the Deputy could do so too - but I do not want to single out examples. That is the purpose, however.

The strategy for tertiary education is the show in town in terms of an outline for how we want our higher education system to develop in the next ten years. One of the key parts of the Bill is that the Minister of the day will prepare a strategy. We will get onto that later in the Bill. That strategy will show the policy intent for the following ten years. That is where the policy intent should always reside, rather than in primary legislation. Ministers come and go and elections happen. The Bill allows the Government of the day to set out in the strategy for tertiary education how it intends to develop policy for the sector for the next decade.

The Deputy stated that designation does not entitle funding. There will be institutions that want to be designated HEIs but are not seeking to become public institutions. There will also be institutions that may wish to become part of the public system. Indeed, the Deputy may wish them to become part of it. I do not propose to accept the amendment for those policy reasons I have outlined. I know the Deputy would not do this to me but I would not like to be in any way misrepresented in respect of the clear commitment to developing a robustly and sustainably funded public education system that will on occasion partner with not-for-profit and private institutions on sectoral issues or regional issues or for certain groupings of students.