Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I requested a full 15-minute slot. In any event, I am glad to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014. I compliment the Minister on bringing forward this legislation. She has done a great deal of innovative work in her six months as Minister for Education and Skills and I have no doubt that she will continue to do so. Notwithstanding the stringent and straitened financial circumstances in which they have been obliged to operate, the Minister and her predecessor have done some tremendous work. The previous Minister did fantastic work in the context of the school building programme but the media has not focused on that fact. As part of that programme, large sums of money have been spent on providing new, additional or replacement school buildings throughout the country. I acknowledge the fact that my constituency of Longford-Westmeath has benefited from the programme. Many of those in the media seem to gloss over what has been done in this regard.

The rationale behind the Bill is to make it possible for education providers to apply to obtain the requisite authorisation for them to describe themselves as universities outside the State for specific purposes. The provisions of the Bill will apply only to education providers that are already authorised to make awards to at least doctoral degree level in the State and those awards must be recognised within the national framework of qualifications. In other words, they must be providing education at a level equivalent to that offered by our universities. In addition, a qualifying provider will be subject to external quality assurance by Quality and Qualifications Ireland. In effect, such providers cannot describe themselves as universities outside the State save for the purposes specified in the Bill. That is fundamental to the application of the legislation and it is important in the context of other matters that have arisen in recent months.

The Minister has the power to refuse to grant authorisation, and the reasons for this are set down in section 2. Provision is made for an appeal against any such decision, and the Minister can apply to the High Court for an injunction to restrain an education provider from describing itself as a university for any purpose while not so authorised or where authorisation was granted initially but where it was subsequently withdrawn. A comprehensive appeals mechanism is set out in section 5, and the procedural aspects that will apply are clearly delineated therein. I welcome this because one of the difficulties that often arises is that the details of appeals mechanisms are not properly set out in legislation. I am of the view that the independence of the appeals process is both paramount and sacrosanct.

One can understand that the thrust of the Bill is to facilitate the internationalisation of our education system. The professionalism, competence and integrity of those who work within the system are attributes which are renowned throughout the world. The Minister discovered that during her trips to China and-----

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