Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I will have to revert to the Senator regarding the Confucius Institutes. He and I have constructively debated in the Seanad the importance of academic autonomy, which Senator Mullen will ask me about shortly, the autonomous nature of the higher education institutes and where the Government begins and ends where they are concerned. Recent weeks have raised interesting questions about where the world is at the moment, with regard to state actors and so on. This is a matter that we will have to reflect on with the HEA and the HEIs collectively and individually. The Senator is right to raise it and people are right to be concerned about it. While we must preserve the concept of academic and HEI integrity and autonomy, we will need to have a discussion around the role of state actors in Irish third level education. I would be open to that.