Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

That is as may be. However, I am well known as an admirer of the work of Deputy de Valera, which I am happy to acknowledge.

I warmly welcome the publication of the Bill. It marks a major step forward in the development of higher education. It is undoubtedly the most important Bill dealing with the institutes sector since the Regional Technical Colleges Act 1992. The Bill is the culmination of a number of important reports and studies in recent years which considered higher education in Ireland and the institutes of technology in particular. Six years ago the Cromien report found that the Department was deeply involved in operational matters for the institutes and that this should be reduced. The report recommended that much of the work being done by the Department should be carried out by the institutes.

Three years ago the council of directors of the institutes of technology produced their own expert working group report on the future position and roles of the institutes. This report was followed in 2004 by the OECD review of higher education policy in Ireland. Both reports recommended many of the measures that the Minister and her Department have incorporated into the Bill, which will give the institutes greater freedom and autonomy.

In particular, the OECD review went to considerable lengths to stress that Irish tertiary education and research and innovative enterprises, have to become the new drivers of economic development and of the country's economic competitiveness. The approaches to resource allocation, financial management methods and accountability requirements, all issues the Bill addresses, are increasingly at odds with managing a productive higher education system.

The success of the institute sector needs to be nurtured and celebrated and it must be defined, with the university sector, as an equal partner in a dynamic higher education system that covers a diverse range of functions. The controls and the freedom of the institutes to manage themselves to meet institutional objectives must be reviewed with a view to drastically lightening the load of external regulation.

The Bill gives effect to these recommendations. It has at its heart, the transfer of a number of powers from the Department of Education and Science directly to the management of institutes. It also moves the granting of permission or approval for many administrative functions from the Department to the Higher Education Authority. Overall the changes proposed by the Bill will allow the institutes deliver what the OECD review identified as their pivotal role in addressing the knowledge economy. This will also enable the institutes to respond quickly and efficiently to national and regional needs. The institutes of technology have matured into fully integrated third level colleges offering qualifications across the full range of the national qualifications framework, from higher certificate to honours degree and to research PhDs. The institutes have all been internationally reviewed as part of the process for assessment for delegated authority to award their own degrees.

Under the new arrangement, institutes of technology will be able to exercise greater autonomy, flexibility and timeliness in their individual and collective responses to strategic goals and priorities. These will be tremendously important and welcome developments for Ireland's 14 institutes of technology, their management, staff and students.

The new look Higher Education Authority will now have responsibility for universities and institutes of technology under its roof. This should be the basis for the development of a more coherent national higher education policy. It is of critical importance to achieve a strong sense of collaboration between the organisations in a unitary system if the potential of higher education is to be fully maximised at a regional and national level.

I commend my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, and her officials on not replicating the British model when preparing the Bill. Unlike the experience in the UK, where in 1992 the polytechnic sector was subsumed into the university sector, we have chosen to value and preserve the distinctive differences of universities and institutes of technology. The Higher Education Authority which, at present, is responsible only for the university sector will have its remit extended to include the institutes of technology. This should result in a more coherent policy focused national higher education sector. While the new operating arrangements are expected to value the differences in provision they will also deliver a fundamental change in the equality of the sector between its two strands.

I am glad to acknowledge that the institutes of technology have been the success story of Irish third level education. More than 50% of all first time admissions to third level are to the institutes. Currently there are of the order of 90,000 students registered in the sector. The institutes have also played a major part in widening access to higher education and in increasing participation rates from 20% in 1980 to 55% today. In addition to full-time students, more than 20,000 also study part time each year on campus and in the workplace, building credits towards internationally recognised qualifications. A further 1,200 students are engaged in fourth level programmes at masters and doctoral levels.

The institutes have done tremendous work in attracting students across the social spectrum. It is acknowledged that in Ireland, students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, students with disabilities and mature students are under represented in third level education. These are all issues the Minister is addressing through a range of measures.

I hope the new governance arrangements proposed in the Bill will further strengthen programmes such as the impressive access programme run by the Institute of Technology, Tallaght. This programme is specifically designed to encourage the participation of people from local disadvantaged areas and to support them during their time in the institute. Approximately 40% of first year students attending IT Tallaght are drawn from areas of Dublin where participation in third level is traditionally low.

I am always sensitive when speaking about Tallaght in any discussion or debate on national issues. Having listened to a number of colleagues this morning who mentioned Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and I have no doubt Athlone and Roscommon will be mentioned, I presume I will be allowed to mention Tallaght.

I have been involved in the project since its inception, having been a member of the County Dublin Vocational Education Committee from 1985 and had the opportunity and privilege to be a member of the interim board of the then Tallaght RTC project. I always took the view that the college in Tallaght came from a strong political and community campaign. It has often been stated that Tallaght is the third largest centre of population, that it has the population of a city but the status of a village. That has changed. Tallaght is a tremendous place and the college has become very much part of life there. I am glad to acknowledge that and the work of Dr. TimCreedon, the director of IT Tallaght, and Stella Browne, the director of communications, who do a tremendous job in reaching out to the community.

On the matter of the name of the college, frequently I get inquiries from Tallaght and elsewhere on the recent name change. Perhaps I can be allowed time to explain it. When the college was set up it was called the Tallaght Regional Technical College from 1992. The institute undertook a full review of its activities during 2004 and 2005 and examined its values and how its brand image reinforced those particular values. As part of that process the institute re-engineered the logo to reflect where it wished to be as an institute and the perception of those who interact with the institute. The college management say the students told them they value the management team and what is being done in that regard. They regard the management team as orientated, supportive, friendly, accessible, relevant and professional and that their designers captured these values into the group representation of the new logo. I know from regular visits to the college that many of those involved in the college and in the community are proud to be a central element of the development of the new and vibrant Tallaght. At the same time the college authorities recognise that being south Dublin's third largest institute they were part of and provided a service to the greater Dublin area and beyond. As one who lives in and represents Tallaght I am always delighted that people would come to Tallaght, which is made easier because of the Luas, and it is great that people do that. The college has said that to capture both ideals it redesigned the logo and now the college describes itself as IT Tallaght, while retaining the title Institute of Technology Tallaght. The abbreviated title is ITT Dublin and this is reflected in the logo in the English and Irish titles. I am glad to put that on the record because it is an important point.

I wish to speak about Tallaght for a moment. I represent not only Tallaght but Brittas, Firhouse, Templeogue and Greenhills. As the college is located in Tallaght I can be excused for speaking about Tallaght.

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