Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for his comments. The debate on smaller schools will take place when the value for money report, which will be out in a matter of weeks, is available.

As for the Bill that is concluding its Second Stage debate, I thank the Deputies for all the contributions made. In particular, I pay tribute to Deputy Smith on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party and Deputy McClellan on behalf of Sinn Féin, as well as the group of speakers who spoke on behalf of the Technical Group. Some concerns have been expressed regarding the reason, in a departure from the original intentions, the NUI has been brought back into the picture. I am glad there is support for this move and it is because when in opposition, I challenged the wisdom of eliminating a recognised brand with a long history, having been established in 1908, while at the same time trying to develop Ireland internationally as a place where students would come and study. It is envisaged they would do so in colleges here or alternatively in colleges of an Irish origination associated with or linked to the National University of Ireland located in other parts of the world. Co-location, either in the Middle East or in China with colleges in those countries or regions and either the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland or the NUI, is part of a new departure in which it is hoped to implement the programme for Government's objective of doubling the participation of international students in the Irish system.

Deputy Clare Daly and others, including Deputy White, expressed some concern about the manner in which the text could be read, which would suggest that working conditions would be diminished or downgraded. The concern is that although they are not precisely the phrases used, this was the intent and such conditions as currently are held by workers in the four bodies to be amalgamated somehow would be diminished. I assure Members this was not the Bill's intent, which is to ensure the harmonisation of working practices across the four situations. For example, different leave arrangements and different arrangements regarding replacements, lunchtimes and all sorts of other matters were in place. While this concerns fewer than 50 people in total, in the future the same people will be working together in the same office. Currently there are two office locations that will be side-by-side and the intention is to enable management to harmonise and to improve the efficiency of work practices, as distinct from undermining or in any way diminishing the working protection and working conditions in respect of salary, pension rights and related matters. I wish to assure Members in that regard.

I have listened to Deputy Nolan's comments with regard to education in Galway and the fact that Galway city is a major provider of education with its two major institutions, namely, GMIT and NUI Galway. I was not fully aware of the extent to which the population of Galway comprised 20,000 students during the academic year in a city with a total population of 70,000 people. It truly must be the most academic city in the country.

A number of Members voiced concerns regarding the position of Irish universities in the various rankings and I will revert to this issue on Committee Stage. The rankings measure a number of indicators and in some cases are self-predicting. One can take a number of metrics and apply them to a set of universities whereby one consequently can predict the outcomes. For example, the Shanghai index, which was the first index to be used worldwide, was designed by the Chinese Government to measure the effectiveness and comparability of Chinese university standards when benchmarked against universities in the United States. In particular, its compilers considered the ratio of research money to outputs, as well as the quality of the research staff and teaching staff with reference, for example, to the numbers of Nobel prizewinners one might have on the staff. Consequently, one can take a set of criteria, apply it to a landscape of institutions, knowing those institutions are heavily weighted in favour of the criteria one has put up on the measurements board in the first instance, and get a favourable outcome. However, what none of the rankings do to my satisfaction is to measure the quality of teaching. For most parents and students, the quality of teaching is as important for them as is the research activity, which in many respects will not have an impact on the quality of the teaching that affects the qualifications and academic standards they will have achieved on emerging from that university.

The Irish State will take on the Presidency of the European Union starting in January 2013 and as Minister for Education and Skills, I will take up the role of incoming President of the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council. As such, I have informed my colleagues and officials on the Educational Council, including the Commissioner for Education and Related Matters, of my intention to advance the European proposal to introduce a ranking system entitled "multi-rank", which will measure on a European level not alone European universities, but universities in those countries prepared to associate within the Bologna process, which if my memory serves me correctly now encompasses approximately 46 member states. I recently attended a conference at which this matter was discussed at length.

I thank Members for their contributions. We will address the matters that have been raised in detail on Committee Stage. I commend the Bill to the House.

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