Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 11:

In page 15, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: “(e) to ensure decent pay and good working conditions for academic (including PhD researchers) and non-academic staff in designated institutions of higher education;

This amendment is on working conditions within the third level sector. Alongside protecting and enhancing the public nature of our higher education system, the other key role of the Higher Education Authority, HEA, should be to promote good working conditions in the sector, including for PhD researchers. Precarious employment has been allowed to spread throughout higher education and this needs to be specifically addressed by the HEA. Governance of the sector needs to relate to the working conditions of all workers in this sector. According to the OECD, Ireland's student-staff ratio is 23.4:1, which is far out of line with the OECD average of 15:1. This can only be addressed by a sustainable new model. We need to look at the working conditions within the sector. These amendments seek to do that.

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