Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I welcome the thrust of the Institutes of Technology Bill 2006, which aims to put the State's 14 institutes of technology on an equal footing with our universities in running their affairs and allowing them to pursue options for greater self-administration and expansion. In contrast to our seven universities, administered by the Higher Education Authority, the institutes of technology are under the control of the Department of Education and Science. The Bill will address this by passing control of the institutes to the HEA and simplifying the complex higher education model that prevails. I endorse the statement of the chief executive of IDA Ireland, Mr. Sean Dorgan, that the institutes have been distinctive for their real world quality and their accessibility.

Thousands of students have passed through the ITs over the past three decades and there are more than 90,000 students in full and part-time study in them. I am proud to say that I count myself among that number, having attended the school of building in Limerick during the 1970s. It has since closed and the Limerick Institute of Technology in Moylish opened in its place. It was a small building when I was there. The expansion that has taken place since reflects its success in recent years. Results in Limerick Institute of Technology are phenomenal and many students who have passed through it went on to enjoy great success. The same can be said for Galway-Mayo IT and Tralee IT, where students from County Clare would go.

It is timely that I should speak on this Bill a fortnight after a survey by the institutes themselves revealed some of the problems that result from having a dual model of administration at third degree level. The public remains unaware of the precise nature of the IT sector, the range of education opportunities it provides and the qualifications that can be received. The survey revealed that just 35% of people are aware of the IT sector as a whole and that there is confusion about the number of institutes, their precise status and the degrees they offer. They award graduate and postgraduate degrees, just as the universities do, along with diplomas. They offer a much broader range of courses than the universities, including e-business and enterprise, computing and information technology, applied sciences, nursing studies, social sciences, architecture, media and digital media, tourism, art and design, and film and animation. They must also be recognised for the role they play in providing an astonishing array of evening adult classes to those wanting to pursue educational opportunities part-time.

The role of the ITs, along with the universities, must be recognised. They have opened their doors to thousands of people, currently amounting to 50% of all students entering higher education. This does not include the 20,000 who study part-time either on campus or in the workplace as part of an IT accredited course. That luxury is only available to those living in close proximity to such an institute. While Ennis is well positioned regarding access to Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Limerick Institute of Technology and Tralee Institute of Technology, it is sufficiently far from these places not to be able to avail of them for day or evening courses. The vocational education committee in Ennis has worked on this in conjunction with the universities but there is an opportunity for them to work with the institutes of technology.

Ennis, with its expanding population of 25,000, should one day soon be considered for an IT, perhaps in partnership with one of its neighbouring ITs. An institute of technology is an enriching facility for any town or city, acting as a natural draw for youth, industry and ideas. A company recently established a base in Cork because there was an institute of technology and a university in the town. In my constituency of Clare, however, people still grow up with no firm expectation that they will be able to settle in their areas. A training college in the vicinity would be a wonderful means of drawing young people to the area and perhaps retaining them there. I have seen in my area of rural west Clare where people move out for education purposes and then move on. It is difficult to bring them back if industry does not exist to provide them with employment.

There are wonderful advantages native to County Clare, with its pristine coastline and beautiful beaches and landscape. The Burren has benefited from the school of art in Ballyvaughan that draws people in every year in conjunction with NUI Galway. It is very important to the area. Clare would be served well by its own institute of technology.

In the short term, I hope the enactment of this Bill will go some way towards meeting the recommendation of the institutes' survey that they need to strengthen their profiles in the public consciousness. Nothing works like funding and the continued advancement of moneys towards the IT sector will enable the institutes to get their message across.

The survey found that while there is a high degree of awareness of lTs in one's local area, there was a great deal of ignorance of the others or that there are 14 ITs in total. The role they have played and must continue to play, however, cannot be overstated. They are the major component of the Celtic tiger, despite this Government's illusion that it is responsible for this success. IT graduates have been central to Ireland's economic growth and in contributing to the skills base that makes lreland a top world location for inward investment, especially with manufacturing industry moving away from Ireland to cheaper countries where labour costs are lower. We must have a well educated pool of graduates leaving ITs and universities to attract high tech industry.

As Fine Gael spokesman on small business, I am conscious that, as knowledge industries replace manufacturing as the key driver of foreign direct investment, the education sector must continue to play its role in drawing in the maximum number of people. It must offer the widest range of courses and continue to develop inquiring minds among our student population. It must also strive to build links with the small to medium-sized enterprise sector which represents a critical gap in the links between industry and education in transferring research and knowledge to the industrial sector. There are more small to medium business interests in Ireland than large industries.

More work must be done as well to expand educational opportunities to the children of marginalised families and to adults wishing to return to full-time or part-time education. The opportunities for working adults for lifelong learning opportunities remain limited, to the shame of this Government. Tax incentives are measly and nothing yet has been heard of the great plan to expand the number of our population who have PhDs. I look forward to some meaningful results from the €300 million strategic innovation fund. lreland produces just 75 science and engineering PhDs per million of population compared with 180 per million in Finland. This is because, as in so many aspects of our education system, from primary level upwards, there are critical funding gaps. In supporting this Bill, I hope it signals some much needed and real change for our institute of technology sector.

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