Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 11, line 32, to delete “the professions and other stakeholders” and substitute “the professions, the community, local interests and other stakeholders”.

This amendment is the first of a number of related amendments and it provides that in addition to the needs of business, enterprise and the professions, the functions of a technological university also provide programmes of education and training that reflect the needs of the community and local interests. I had previously sought an amendment relating to the community but withdrew that amendment on Committee Stage. This amendment follows discussion on Committee Stage and relevant consultations with Deputies Kathleen Funchion, Catherine Martin and ThomasByrne. Deputy O'Sullivan and Deputy Burton were also notified of the change.

In similar vein, amendment No. 10 provides that in addition to collaborating with business, enterprise and the professions, the functions of a technological university also provide for collaborating with the community, local interests and other stakeholders in the region in which the campuses of the technological university are located.

Again, I had previously sought an amendment on the issue of the community, but withdrew the amendment at Committee Stage.

Amendment No. 24 promotes the involvement of the community and broader local interests in the functions of the academic council.

Amendment No. 27 broadens the scope of the strategic development plan to take account of providing programmes of education and training, the needs of local interests as well as the community and other local stakeholders. As such it covers a wider breadth of interest groups and strengthens the provisions of programme development in this regard.

Amendment No. 35 provides for the widening of those groupings which can be involved in the development and delivery of programmes for students at a technological university. The wider scope also includes community and interest groups.

Amendment No. 36 provides that applicant institutes demonstrate to the satisfaction of the advisory panel at the time that they apply for an order under section 33 that the innovation and research has positive social and economic effects on the community and local interests in the region in which the campuses of the applicant institutes are located.

Similarly, amendment No. 37 provides that applicant institutes demonstrate to the satisfaction of the advisory panel that the applicant institutes have strong links with the community and local interests in the region in which the campuses of the applicant institutes are located, as well as with businesses, enterprises and the professions.

Amendment No. 38 provides that applicant institutes also demonstrate to the satisfaction of the advisory panel the capacity to reform effectively the functions of a technological university. In particular they must demonstrate that they have developed and have procedures in place to develop programmes further that respond to the needs of the community, local interests and other stakeholders in the regions in which their campuses are located.

Amendment No. 41 was agreed at Committee Stage but I withdrew it to include a reference to local interests. This amendment provides for those matters to which the Minister shall have regard in relation to an application under section 26 as to whether he or she will make an order under section 33. This section incorporates these elements of section 16 of the Technological University Bill 2015, as initiated, which would previously have formed part of the considerations by the Minister when determining whether a merger was appropriate but which now will be used to consider an application made under section 26.

Amendment No. 42 was also agreed in Committee Stage, but again I withdrew it in order to include a reference to local interests following the discussion with Deputies at Committee Stage. This is broadening the scope of local interests for inclusion in the needs of a wider number of stakeholders, to be served efficiently and effectively by the proposed technological university. The Minister shall now have regard to whether the needs of students, businesses, enterprise, the professions, the community, local interest and other stakeholders in the region in which the campuses of the applicant college and applicant technological university are located would be more efficiently and effectively served if the order was made.

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