Dáil debates

Wednesday, 22 June 2022

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages

 

5:02 pm

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 13, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: “(3) In this Act, references to environmental development and sustainability shall be construed as references to development and actions that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, including actions in respect of social, economic, cultural and environmental development, climate and biodiversity.”.

This is the section of the Bill on environment and sustainable development. I want to acknowledge that Deputies Ó Cathasaigh, Ó Ríordáin and Conway-Walsh had amendments in this regard. We had a good discussion on Committee Stage on this matter. In this amendment, I am endeavouring to respond to the Deputies' requests. A number of amendments had been submitted to the Higher Education Authority Bill 2022, which relate to sustainable development and climate change.

Amendment No. 7 includes a new subsection 3 to section 2 of the Bill, which provides a definition of environmental development and sustainability as: "including actions in respect of social, economic, cultural and environmental development, climate and biodiversity." This is quite important and I clearly heard from the Deputies the importance of defining what we meant on environmental development and sustainability. We have done that through this amendment and this will ensure that all references to environmental development and sustainability throughout the Bill are understood within the same context as they are in national policy so that there is no ambiguity on our understanding of this concept.

Amendments Nos. 36, 38 and 65 amend sections on planning for provision for higher education and lifelong and flexible learning to include the term: "environmental development and sustainability". This will ensure that these provisions are captured within the new proposed definition in amendment No. 7. It is noted that section 8, on the objects of an t-údarás, already includes the term "environmental development and sustainability". It is also noted that section 33, which is the strategy for tertiary education, already includes the term "environmental development and sustainability".

Amendment No. 12 is also in this section. I do not propose to accept amendment No. 12 on the basis that I believe we have covered it in amendment No. 7, which I am bringing forward and which provides the new definition.

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