Ms Annette Dolan:

We are really lucky here that we have a new Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science since last July. It celebrated its first anniversary recently. That new Department and Ministry have to establish themselves. Previously, it was almost the Cinderella of the larger Department of Education among all the sectors of education. There has to be a clearly differentiated role between the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and that of the HEA. That is not clear anywhere in the Bill and that needs to be much stronger. If the Department is to become a leader and innovator and change the status of further and higher education in this country, there must be clearly differentiated roles. That needs to be looked at in the legislation. It may have been that the HEA Act is there since 1971 and up until a year ago there was not a dedicated Department and now there is, but it is a dimension that needs to be examined and changed in the Bill.

Academic freedom is really important. It is the tenet of what academia is all about but everyone who is employed within a university, a TU, an institute of technology or any other college of education has a contract. There are rights, roles and responsibilities within the contract. If there is an issue, it is a matter for the agreed grievance or disciplinary procedures as set out in the contract. There have to be fair procedures and due process and natural justice within that.