Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to see this Bill reach the floor of the House because it is crucial that our legislation underpins and supports our modernised and vastly changed higher education system, our students who are in that system and all those who work in it.

I also want to refer to the fact that yesterday we passed the Technological Universities Act, which approves the merger of Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, Letterkenny Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology Sligo to form the Atlantic Technological University that will happen on 1 April. As an aside, I do not know who chose the name but I think it is an excellent choice. This is positive news, but in many ways it is just a start because we now have to put flesh on the bones. Putting the framework in place is an essential first step. Yesterday was the most important part of that process. Another plus in all of this is that all the students who graduate in 2022 will do so with university degree qualifications.

I will come back to the Atlantic Technological University because that is the core issue I want to speak about. I will raise one or two other points and perhaps come back on Committee Stage to refer to a few more. I listened to the debate last week. I thought I might be speaking on Thursday, but that did not happen and it ran into today. I remember the Minister said that the Bill does not address all the relevant issues. One of the things it seeks to do, and what I will refer to, is to promote equality of access to, and participation in, higher education. It is very important when we speak about equality of access that we do not neglect students with disabilities or students who have care responsibilities. Many of those students might need to access remote learning for some or part of their course, for example. This will have to form part of the reform of the Student Universal Support Ireland grant scheme. As I said, I know that is for another day, but access means access for all. We definitely need targets and indicators so that we can measure how we are improving equality of access. The Minister will know that if we cannot measure something, then we cannot really say whether we are going in the right direction, never mind achieving those targets. I believe that a reforming Bill such as this must be accompanied by the necessary measures not just to promote but to ensure equality of access.

As I said, one of the main reasons I am happy to see this Bill is that it is part of the support system for setting up the technological universities, TUs. There is a good regional spread between the west and the north west in the setting up of the Atlantic Technological University. I believe, as does the Minister and most people, that if it is properly resourced, and we will have to wait and see, it can act as a catalyst for better educational outcomes, economic development in the region, support for established and new businesses right across the region and, crucially, can provide world-class education and opportunities to the students who attend. In the context of the TUs, I will mention the very valuable work - I have done this before but I want to do it again - of the Minister's predecessor, the former Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills, Mary Mitchell O'Connor, who was determined to ensure that these TUs would be set up across the entire country. It is great to see that the Minister carried on her work and now they are a reality. It tells many of us the truth that if a Minister is determined that things will happen, very often they do.

On 1 April this year, the Atlantic Technological University will become a reality. This Bill will help to set up the necessary framework. In that context, I will ask a number of questions and make a number of points. The main point I want to make relates to the incorporation of St. Angela's College, Sligo, with IT Sligo so that it can be part of the Atlantic Technological University from the very start. As the Minister is aware - I know he has visited St. Angela's and is a strong supporter of it - St. Angela's is the national provider of home economics and arts degrees, and home economics teacher education, in addition to providing nursing health sciences, disability studies, education, special needs education, religious education and food, nutrition and business management courses. As the Minister already knows, St. Angela's College will bring very significant and strategic assets to the Atlantic Technological University.

Incorporation of St. Angela's with Sligo IT commenced in May of last year with a view to full incorporation by January 2022. That was envisaged prior to the establishment of the Atlantic Technological University. However, the current institutes of technology Act does not provide adequate legislative provision for the incorporation. In fact, I believe that two new amendments must be added either to this Bill - I would like clarity which I know the Minister will give in his wrap-up since I spoke to him about it earlier - or to the institutes of technology and the technological universities Acts. I asked him to clarify for me what is necessary in order that we have a firm legal basis for the incorporation. It is my understanding that the two necessary amendments are relatively simple and straightforward amendments to the institutes of technology and the technological universities Acts. I think that would suffice. If this is the case, I ask the Minister to progress that immediately. If on the other hand, we need to amend this Bill, it would happen on Committee Stage.

Right now, the proposed date for the signing of the transfer agreement between St. Angela's and IT Sligo is 1 March 2022. Either this Bill must be passed before that can happen, with the amendments I spoke of, or the amendments to the institutes of technology and the technological universities Acts must be put in place.

It is crucial that everything is in place before 1 April when the Atlantic Technological University will come into being. It is my understanding that those amendments are not ready. It may be that they are still with the Department or with the Attorney General. I am not sure but wherever they are, I believe they are reasonably straightforward and could be progressed soon. If not, there is a real possibility that could have significant and unforeseen outcomes for the incorporation of St. Angela's College and IT Sligo because after 1 April it will no longer be IT Sligo.

I ask that the Minister provide a timeline for the enactment of this Bill and if he, as Minister, and the Government will ensure that this legislation is in place in time to allow for the incorporation of St. Angela's College to take place before 1 April? Or, as I said, will the Government ensure the amendments to the other Acts are in place by then? This is the most crucial matter. I listened to the debate last week and this evening and it is clear that there is fairly broad support for this Bill. There are some caveats and members of the Opposition rightly believe improvements can be made but there does not appear to be any systemic opposition to the Bill. I ask that the Minister make every possible effort to ensure the timely passage of this Bill.

I apologise for being so pedantic but this is really important. If it is the case that the institutes of technology and the technological universities Acts just need to be amended, then I ask that this be done speedily. I know that the Minister fully supports the incorporation of St. Angela's College with IT Sligo and, therefore, with the Atlantic Technological University. As I said earlier, if Ministers want things done, very often they are. We can both agree that when the new Atlantic Technological University is set up with its new board and new chair - whom I wish well - the incorporation of St. Angela's College may not be at the top of their agenda. They will set their own agenda within the context in which they operate. There could be a delay. Three months could easily turn into six months or a year and that would be a real disadvantage for St. Angela's College or for any other college not involved from the start. As the Minister will know, the start is when plans are put in place and when short, medium and long-term objectives and the allocation of resources are debated.

I am almost finished. I appreciate the Minister remaining in the House for my contribution. I listened to the contribution of Deputy McGuinness in which he mentioned that he requested - and a senior Minister or member of Government had requested - a meeting with the president of the Munster Technological University and that this request was refused. It is clear that new boards, presidents and chairs will have their own minds. I do not want to come back to the Minister in three or six months' time when I can do little and when I am not sure if the Minister can do anything. I appreciate that the Ceann Comhairle needs to move on so I will finish. It is not simple but it is possible and doable. I have spoken to the Minister and I know he supports the incorporation of IT Sligo and St. Angela’s College. Timing is crucial in that.

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