Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My two amendments in the grouping have been tabled on the back of our discussion on Committee Stage when we voted on the matter. On amendment No. 19, I understand the Minister thinks parity of esteem is explicit in the legislation. The reason I am proposing the amendment is to have a report done within one year of passing the Act to determine whether those affected, including researchers and people generally in the third level sector, feel the provisions are strong enough with respect to parity of esteem. The issue of parity of esteem has long come up in the third level sector and it had regularly come up when the Bill was being developed. It was clear on Committee Stage that we were all in agreement that there should be parity of esteem but not on whether that is stated explicitly enough in the legislation as it stands. It would be worthwhile for us to have a report within a year to allow us to reflect on whether parity of esteem should be made more explicit in the legislation.

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Regarding my amendment No. 20, we have had some discussion on this issue and its impact of researchers. The amendment refers back to an issue we discussed on Committee Stage. It proposes that the board should be comprised of a majority of people who are active researchers from a broad range of fields. Again, this reflects the issues of parity of esteem and of making sure the composition of a board is as reflective as possible of the research sector. That can only be of benefit to the board.

We voted on this matter on Committee Stage but the proposal did not pass. A requirement to bring forward a report within a year of the passing of the Bill would be helpful. It might be that we come back after a year and find these two issues are cleared and okay. In that case, all will be well and good. On the other hand, if people still have the same concerns they have been highlighting to me for some time, we can take a look at the issues again. Reviewing the position within a year of the passing of the Bill would be of benefit. The principle that the composition of the board should be representative is an extremely important one, along with principle of parity of esteem. As we have discussed this at length previously, I will leave it at that. Those two reports would be of benefit.

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