Results 4,181-4,200 of 8,015 for speaker:Jonathan O'Brien

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: The fact that the phrase "staff association" is used in other legislation is not a good enough reason for it to be used in the Bill. As the Minister stated, none of the institutes currently have staff associations and there are a number of college presidents who are members of trade unions. The staff association could be used to undermine trade union representation. That is one of the...

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: Where?

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I would argue that members of staff should be represented by trade unions and that by creating the option of staff associations, we are providing that they may not be represented by trade unions in the future. As the Minister stated, such associations do not exist within the institutes currently. We should not be encouraging them to exist in the future by making provision in legislation...

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I move amendment No. 10:In page 12, line 14, after "section" to insert "7, 10,". Section 3 states "Where an order under section 18, 46or 53is proposed to be made, a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House." We propose to include sections 7 and 10, which...

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I understand the reasoning for not including sections 7 and 10, because they are already in progress. We have amendments that will deal with sections 7 and 10, which we can discuss later. I believe that in the interest of consistency, these sections should be included in the orders which will be laid before the House. These are separate sections within the Bill and we will deal with them...

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I move amendment No. 11:In page 13, to delete lines 30 to 35. This relates to what we have just discussed - that is, the provision for merging the institutes. Under the legislation, a draft order would be laid before the Houses, as the Minister explained, and it would be voted on by both the Dáil and Seanad before the resolution could be approved. We include this amendment because we do...

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (26 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: In the Munster region, the Cork and Kerry case, the merger is very far down the line and they are meeting all the criteria. The Minister mentioned the expert panel report which found they are on course. However, the very people who are being asked to deliver the high quality education in a technological university are in dispute. They have no faith in the process and they feel excluded...

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: We are on the grouping of amendments Nos. 11 to 17, inclusive.

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I outlined most of it last night. This relates to the proposed mergers contained the Bill. I outlined some of the issues around the Cork and Tralee multi-campus proposal and the difficulties with the trade unions not being consulted in any constructive way. Those are the reasons for the amendments. I will await the Minister's reply before coming in again.

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: Now that I have caught my breath, I will go through my points. I raised most of them last night and we had a discussion about the concerns of the TUI and staff members. The Minister said it was not credible to give any one stakeholder a veto. However, the Government has given vetoes to other stakeholders in other Bills, and last night I pointed out the veto we have given to banks on...

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I move amendment No. 12:In page 13, to delete lines 32 and 33 and substitute the following:“7. (1) The Minister shall, by order, appoint a day (in this Chapter referred to as the “dissolution day”) for the purposes of subsection (2) which shall be made following application from the governing bodies and presidents of each of the constituent colleges and said application...

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I move amendment No. 14:In page 14, to delete lines 1 to 9.

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I move amendment No. 15:In page 14, to delete lines 18 to 26.

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I move amendment No. 16:In page 14, line 20, after “subsection (2)” to insert the following:“, which order shall be made following application from the governing bodies and presidents of each of the constituent colleges and said application shall include a statement that the terms of the merger have been agreed with the staff trade unions”.

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I move amendment No. 17:In page 14, to delete lines 27 to 34.

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (28 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I move amendment No. 18:In page 15, to delete lines 11 and 12 and substitute the following: “13. (1) A college (in this Chapter referred to as “applicant colleges”) may jointly apply to the Minister for an order under section 18.”.

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (28 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I move amendment No. 19:In page 16, to delete lines 28 to 30 and substitute the following:“(2) A notice under subsection (1) shall state that the applicant college and staff of the college and trade union representatives of these staff may make representations to the Minister in relation to the proposed decision not later than 30 days after service of the notice.”. We covered...

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (28 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: I do not agree with the analysis provided by the Minister of State. He indicated that the 30-day process could not be opened up to all stakeholders. We are discussing a key stakeholder, namely, academic staff. The Minister of State's position is that the House should pass the legislation and the various issues can be dealt with subsequently. Once passed, the Bill becomes law. Section...

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (28 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: Will the Minister of State outline what opportunities for further engagement will be available once the legislation has been passed? It is unclear how the outstanding issues will be addressed once the legislation has been passed because the section states clearly that only applicant colleges can make representations to the Minister on the proposed decision and they must do so not later than...

Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2016)

Jonathan O'Brien: We have.