Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

That is perfect. The Bill states the recognised universities of the NUI must establish quality assurance procedures and have those procedures approved by the authority. While the NUI would be covered by the quality standards outlined in the Bill and would be required to meet them, it would remain as a separate awarding body. The Minister outlined again yesterday, as he did when he published the Bill, that:

The amalgamating agencies have performed well over the last decade and have been an important force for change in their respective sectors. It is now time to bring their related functions together to deliver the best, more cost-effective service.

I welcome that. In the debate on the Bill in the Seanad the Minister made the following statement, which I also welcome:

Progress can now be most efficiently and effectively achieved through the establishment of a strong single organisation prioritising the needs of learners and delivering quality service to providers. The amalgamation of agencies is also a key part of the Government's overall public sector reform agenda and the establishment of the authority will result in cost savings.

The objective of the Bill is to create a single agency, ensuring there are no longer any overlapping responsibilities, consistency in quality and standards and introducing a more cost effective service. I look forward to hearing the Minister's response on the decision to leave the National University of Ireland out of this new framework. NUI argued that it may lead to reputational damage to the awards on the higher education side and that most member agencies in the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education are concerned solely with higher education. What about the institutes of technology, which are also in the higher education sector but would be awarded by a separate body, the new authority?

The Minister must fully clarify this and I look forward to his response.

Yesterday evening I referred briefly to the international education mark and the code of practice. The Bill contains new provisions on the regulation of providers offering education and training services to international students whereby the new authority will develop a code of practice. Providers will be able to apply for the international education mark based on their compliance with the code of practice and it seems while the authority will encourage providers to apply for an international education mark it will not be mandatory. On Committee Stage we should consider at length whether the code of practice and applying for the international education mark be made mandatory. According to the regulatory impact assessment for the Bill, which was published last year, providers of international education services would benefit from the international education mark and the code of practice for international learners, which would help contribute to Ireland's reputation as a high-quality education provider. This is important to encourage more international students to study here which brings with it significant economic benefits. It is very important that we ensure education service providers are seen to meet the highest international standards.

In July 2011 the Minister announced the new structure for further education and the establishment of SOLAS, which had been outlined by his predecessor. On behalf of Fianna Fáil I welcome the proposed new structures. Several weeks ago at a committee meeting to discuss the Estimates for the Department of Education and Skills I mentioned to the Minister the need to put in place the new structures as soon as possible. I realise it is a big task and a major opus for the Department and I understand the new structures cannot be put in place overnight, but it is important that they are put in place as soon as possible and that the right structures are used. I hope the Minister and his officials can progress establishing the new structures as soon as possible. He will have our support in bringing the Bill through both Houses of the Oireachtas as speedily as possible.

During the interregnum period between old and new structures there is always the danger of uncertainty creeping in, and negative messages get more amplified than positive ones. I caution against this uncertainty, as often doubt can set in the minds of members of staff with regard to their security of tenure, employment, where services will be delivered and the extent of these services.

The new structure for FÁS is also a welcome development as greater momentum is required with regard to apprenticeships and training.

The continuing pressure on budgets and staff in higher education impacts on standards and our international reputation. The Minister must face up to the question of how we maintain standards while continuing to increase participation. In March 2012 the Times Higher Education world reputation rankings showed Ireland was not represented in the top 100 universities in the world. No Irish universities ranked among the world elite in a list reflecting the views of more than 17,000 academics throughout the world. These issues need to be addressed if we are to attract increasing numbers of foreign students.

As we discussed in other debates on education, including during Question Time, we all welcome the increasing participation level in further and higher education. The rate of expansion of higher education opportunities in Ireland has consistently been among the highest of all OECD countries in recent decades. We were fifth highest of all OECD countries in terms of the higher education attainment levels of young adults aged 25 to 34 in 2007. By 2009 we achieved the highest participation rate in tertiary education in the EU. This was a very welcome milestone and we must ensure we continue to build on this solid progress. The Acting Chairman, Deputy Paudie Coffey, has a particular interest in the development of technological universities. There is much interest throughout the country in the institutes of technology and possible clustering. As the Minister stated clearly, and he is correct, this will depend on very rigorous assessment and the attainment of internationally set educational standards.

I referred to the world rankings of our universities. In reply to a question I put to him at the end of April about the recent Times Higher Education world reputation rankings which failed to feature an Irish university being a cause of concern for all of us, the Minister stated:

Despite some decline, Irish universities continue to figure prominently in world rankings. Irish institutions are featuring in the top 1% of the world. In 2011, two Irish institutions were in the top 200 and another three were in the top 400 Times Higher Education World University ranked institutions out of some 15,000 universities worldwide. Moreover, the overall performance of the Irish system was highly ranked; 17th place overall and 6th place globally relative to our GDP.

This message and these statistics are very important and the wider public should know this. I quoted the Minister's reply because it did not gain traction in the broadcast or print media. Too often we have negative commentary on the delivery of public services and the inadequacies of our education system. We should also have traction for information on the quality provision.

Mr. Boland of the Higher Education Authority, referring to the ranking compiled by Universitas 21, an international network of research universities, stated: "The Universitas 21 approach, in looking at overall systems of higher education, demonstrates in a way which other ranking systems failed to do the great strengths of our higher education and research system.". It is important that we note this.

I do not know whether it is appropriate to quote our eminent President Michael D. Higgins, but recently he criticised the focus on global rankings. He stated some universities place more emphasis on the ability of staff to improve their standing than on their teaching ability. We should bear in mind the comments of President Higgins, a man of great distinction, as a teacher, as an academic, and obviously as our first citizen and a former distinguished Member of the Oireachtas.

I welcome the legislation and there are some issues we will be able to tease out on Committee Stage. Fianna Fáil wants this legislation, which has already gone through the Upper House, advanced through this House as soon as possible.

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