Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I understand the Minister to be saying that, legally, this has the effect of being a transfer of undertakings, which has happened from time to time in respect of various public bodies that transferred. My question is on something that does not feature in the Bill and maybe we will come back to it in the new year so I will flag it for the Minister.

Does the Minister of State have concerns about what is happening to very talented people who are either completing their PhDs or in the middle of same and their capacity to get stable, recognised employment? Section 50(1)(b) refers to a fixed term employee. Does the Minister of State have data on the institutes of technology and other institutions as to how many staff working there over long periods lack full staff positions? While they rightly have to run their own institutions, it has suited some college presidents to vary their budgets to have some people on full staff terms and conditions which others do not enjoy. The Minister of State may well tell the House that this is not a feature of the Bill, but it is one of the issues she has to address as an office holder. If she does not, many of these people, who are among the brightest and best, will end up leaving the country or going into other fields where their skills are recognised and remunerated.

The document from which the Minister of State read is a general one on how postgraduates are to be treated. I do not even think that is being done, by the way, in some of our universities. It does not apply either to how some women are being treated in our universities where their rate of promotion is significantly lower than that of men. That has been addressed in part by the courts and in part by a number of other bodies. These issues are really important for the quality of our third level institutions. What is the Minister of State saying to staff who are in those positions and where tenure is weak or non-existent? What about promotion by gender, where women are not numerically represented as well as men? We have a lot of women staff in colleges and universities at the lower levels but they are not necessarily going up the promotion ranks. Again, it means losing out on a lot of talent. What are the Minister of State's thoughts on this important issue for the country as we progress? Our third level sector is a major draw for foreign direct investment because of the calibre of those who have been educated and trained here. Institutes of technology are vital to attracting more foreign direct investment to Tralee, Sligo and Mayo and as such we need clarity that the people employed in these institutions will get contracts.

The Minister of State did not address the point I made about ancillary staff in libraries, laboratories, research centres, services and administration in colleges. Is the Minister of State saying that what was traditionally understood as a transfer of undertakings operates at a 100% level for all of these people and not just for the academic staff?

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