Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this topic. The last occasion I spoke on it was, I think, February 2022 in relation to the Higher Education Authority Bill. I had a lot of time then to discuss where we were going with third level education.

I welcome the Minister's speech and the priorities it set out. However, I have a huge problem with the title, "Power of Higher Education, Research and Skills as an Economic Enabler in a Changing World". That is certainly a factor but I would not have it as the title of a speech I would give on the importance of third level education in enabling our people to develop their full potential in whatever sphere they go into. That will drive the economy rather than the other way round. This shows a narrow focus on the economy. I am from Galway and I want a thriving city and recognise the importance of industry. However, there must be a better and more enabling vision if we are to really make words mean something. We declared a climate emergency. I think it was 2019 - that long ago. We have supposedly learned from Covid and we have supposedly learned the ongoing consumption model - the neoliberal model - is endangering our planet. Within that, third level must be looked at in a completely different way.

I welcome that the Minister set out four things but he has put research as an economic enabler at number one. High-quality, accessible higher education is second - absolutely. If I have a chance I will come back to access because that is a huge problem in terms of cost and accommodation and the Minister acknowledges that further on. The third is expanding pathways to skills and apprenticeships. That is wonderful in theory, and I will come back to its operation on the ground. Then there is "to promote curiosity [that is certainly very weak] and the pursuit of knowledge as a public good." I suppose we are getting there a little with that language but I would like to see education for education's sake within third level institutions. That ultimately will benefit society by making us critical thinkers.

If we have learned anything from the banking inquiry, it is that we need critical thinkers. The last thing we need is a consensus mentality. We see that in relation to Europe and the inability to call out genocide in Gaza, and I am just picking one area of the world. A consensus mentality is what Nyberg said was behind the financial crisis in Ireland. Nobody spoke out. Nobody stood out from the crowd or said that this was wrong.

I am very worried that this consensus mentality is being enshrined in our third level institutions. Maybe I am a little too cynical but I remember my time on the Committee of Public Accounts, and the seven presidents coming before us - the magnificent seven, as I called them. They happened to all be men. They did not inspire me with what I would have expected. I understand that things have changed slightly and, in Galway, we got a new president who sorted out the gender inequality cases. We remember the Sheehy Skeffington book and the three conditions. The new president sorted that out. Unfortunately, he left early and is gone.

I will not spend any more time on that. Nonetheless, as a society, we need to discuss what our universities are there for. We need to bridge the gap that exists between town and gown, as it was called in Galway, so the universities are open to everybody. As the House knows, I come from a large family in Galway. We had the benefit of having the university beside us and we also had the benefit of a whole range of skills in our house as it was a large family. I have seen it from every point of view.

With regard to Galway city, which was mentioned by a previous speaker from east Galway, the new campus in Galway is a matter of disappointment to me. First, it is a fantastic concept that we need an adult campus in Galway and it should have been done years ago. The Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, GRETB, has the land and there is no obstacle whatsoever. It has the vision and it came forward with that vision. The Government, notwithstanding its sweet words about apprenticeships and so on, told the GRETB to go back and submit another plan, reducing it to 10,000 sq. m and reducing the whole vision. Apprenticeships went into the second phase, although they should be top of the list. This was due to the fact that those involved had to restrict their vision. Under Government direction, apprenticeships have gone into phase 2 and God knows when that will be. It is similar with the Irish language despite the possibilities and obligations under Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla to upskill everyone, but particularly public and civil servants and all of our services. That has now gone into phase 2.

With regard to the technological universities, I was at ATU in Castlebar and I have been in Galway. There are wonderful students coming forward with a questioning mind. If I were to employ somebody in the morning, it would not be on the basis of their CV or somebody telling me how great they are. It would be on their ability to say, “I do not know that but I am willing to learn, and I have an open mind.” That is what I would put a premium and a value on, even in my own work in my office here: somebody who has the courage to say, “I do not know but I am willing to learn.”

I do not know if the Minister of State has information on the vacancy in Galway. The previous president has been gone for almost a year and there is no new president. In the debate on the last occasion, when we employed the new president, it was said that the Irish language was a limiting factor and we could not have a condition that the president would have Irish because that would limit the availability of the talent. The irony is that when we got the new president, he was a fluent Irish speaker, although it went against everything that had been said. The Minister of State might have an update on that. If she has any influence with regard to adult education at the campus in Galway, I would appreciate her using that. I know she comes from a background of teaching. It makes absolute sense to go with a full vision. The number of buildings being rented by the GRETB in Galway is shocking but it is trying to provide a service at every level.

The vulnerability of the third level education sector in general was brought into acute focus with Trump’s recent announcements about third level education. We realise how vulnerable something that we take for granted is. We then have the Government announcement that it is going to look at paying higher salaries to attract leading academics. While I might welcome that on one level, maybe we could look at the talent within our own universities that we are wasting because people are on precarious hours, have no security and cannot shine. We will go forward and pay enormous salaries, and the Government will pay up to half the salary, yet we do not see the irony that our PhD students and master’s students are struggling because of insecurity and having no contracts.

I have a concern about the universities not speaking out on issues they should speak out on and about the need to create an atmosphere where questions are allowed without being seen as disloyal. I see there is a commitment to look at funding, which is a huge problem for the universities. They are forced into other roles, such as the private foundation role. I have seen this in Galway, where the foundation determined which buildings went up on the campus. Clearly, they were not student accommodation. The problem of student accommodation was thrown out onto the town and still is a major problem because it is all based on profit. The sites are being picked in unsuitable areas because there is no overall thinking that student accommodation, by and large, should be on campuses. Galway was an example where the foundation included members from Goldman Sachs and Coca-Cola. That foundation is still there, determining the agenda in the college, as opposed to providing student accommodation and education for education's sake.

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