James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I acknowledge that the Minister has engaged on the issue. I appreciate the Minister of State's response that there is no Government money at involved. With respect, I do not entirely agree with that. The university is publicly funded. I accept that the funding for the project came from another source. The university receives funding from a variety of sources. A publicly funded university has reneged on its commitments to students. Even worse than it being public money, it is money paid by students over many years.

If one were to be technical about it, the conditions under which the referendum of the student body was held at the time included a provision that any alternative to the conditions of the fundamental premise would invalidate the vote. This is an avenue the students' union is going to pursue and consider, and I think it has a very good point in that regard.

The student body has made it clear that it has three basic asks. One is that the governing body publicly reiterate its commitment to deliver a new student centre for the benefit of students, which seems very basic requirement, and ensure the prioritisation of that over any other capital projects. The second is that the student levy be frozen, with no increase to the charge for a period of five years. It seems reasonable that if there is a levy for something that is not happening the students would not need to pay it. A freeze on the levy makes a lot of sense. The third ask is that there be transparency around the process in the future. Where is the money that has been collected and ring-fenced to date? How much is in the fund? What is it being ring-fenced and used for? Is it gathering interest? Is it being used temporarily for other projects? What will happen in the future? Will the money be used to commission a study on the new student centre? Where will it go? Where will it be spent? What are the next steps?

There should be full accountability and transparency in respect of this matter. The students' union has a place on the governing body, but it is only one voice among those of many other stakeholders. It is a reasonable request. It is good corporate governance. The students' union did not expect this move. It took it and the entire Maynooth hinterland off guard. I, as a local Deputy, was not expecting it. There needs to be better communication and transparency from the college body as this issue progresses.

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