Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. There are really three things to say. The first thing is that, as I have said, we are engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the HEA with regard to that employment control framework. Of course, employment controls are needed. We all know that. There is no publicly funded agency that can hire without reference to the impact on the public sector pay bill, pensions and so on. The Deputy is not suggesting there should be. I would not be engaging if I did not accept that we need to see changes with regard to a new staffing agreement. That is the prize we are trying to obtain for the sector. That is crucial. That is one thing.

The second thing, about which the HEA was asked at a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts on 1 July, relates to the issue of precarious employment and casualisation. Following on from that engagement between the HEA and the committee, my Department will be engaging further with the HEA to request and to undertake an analysis, including of data already to hand, and to reach definitive conclusions - which is important because there is a lot of data - regarding the overall position.

With regard to the third thing, with the indulgence of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I will again make reference to the subgroup of the national advisory forum for Ireland's framework for doctoral education. It is now looking at what we can do for PhD students.

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