Results 7,541-7,560 of 45,495 for speaker:Simon Harris

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: With all this new-politics stuff, the power of persuasion has changed my mind, but I am not going to accept amendment No. 131, for the reasons I outlined. I am sure we can reflect on it between now and Report Stage. I will accept amendment No. 130 because I believe the Deputy is right. The institutions are already committing to a cultural element in their strategic development plans. The...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: I very much appreciate the work the Deputy is doing in respect of equity of access and I agree that through her work and that of my officials we have tried to strengthen equity of access provision throughout the Bill. This section, however, relates to the private colleges. We had a debate on this earlier in terms of private versus public and the likes. The way we pursue access to education...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: That is an interesting one. I will have to go back to previous sections, but I am satisfied that in the context of institutions we are funding, the Bill provides an ability for the HEA to attach conditions to funding. That is one of the significant benefits of the Bill. We can consider that and see whether the Deputy is satisfied it is strong enough but, where we do not fund the...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. As the Chairman indicated, amendment No. 134 tabled by Deputy Ó Ríordáin and amendment No. 135 that I have brought forward are alternatives in the sense that they are both trying to achieve the same thing. I would argue that my amendment achieves what Deputy Ó Ríordáin is seeking to achieve, which is a legitimate point that I heard from the...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 135: In page 58, line 4, to delete "concerned about" and substitute "of opinion that there are significant concerns regarding".

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 137: In page 58, line 26, after "may" to insert ", with the approval of the Board,". Amendments Nos. 137 and 138 provide that the chief executive of the HEA requires board approval for the publication of a report of a review under section 64. This is important where there is potential reputational risk to an institution. It is the view of the sector and, I suspect,...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 138: In page 58, line 27, to delete "as he or she considers" and substitute "as the Board considers".

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 139a: In page 59, to delete lines 8 and 9.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank both Deputies. Amendment No. 142 provides for an appeal of a decision by the CEO to provide assistance to a designated institution of higher education and provides that when an appeal is made, the appeal has the effect of placing a stay on the provision of such assistance until such time as the appeal has been determined. I have proposed to remove section 66 from the Bill to remove...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 143: In page 61, line 13, to delete “The remedial” and substitute “Subject to subsection (4), the remedial”. Amendments Nos. 143 and 144 provide that the approval of the board is required before a remedial or other measure referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) or (d) of subsection (3) may be imposed on a designated institution of higher...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 144: In page 61, between lines 31 and 32, to insert the following: “(4) The approval of the Board shall be required before a remedial or other measure referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (d) of subsection (3) may be imposed on designated institution of higher education.”.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: This amendment is on appeals provisions for the provision of assistance and information to other bodies, and the undertaking of a review. This amendment was dealt with just a few moments ago under amendments Nos. 140, 142 and 146. An appeals provision is in place to appeal the imposition of remedial measures. We have agreed to remove section 66, so I think we have addressed this through...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: They are not precluded from serving as members. My amendment relates just to serving officials. Former officials are not precluded. Obviously, the appointment process is through the Minister of the day.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 149: In page 63, line 22, after “tÚdarás” to insert “or officers of the Minister”.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. A key tenet of this Bill is to make sure that we protect the autonomy of our institutions. That is really important. To ensure that happens, we need to make sure that we improve internal governance, and this Bill is trying to do that. At the outset, and I want to be really clear on this, people who serve on governing authorities are doing so for the public good....

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: I want to say to Deputy Conway-Walsh, who made the point about geographic representation, which is an important point in Mayo and in the north west. Section 87(8)b refers to when the membership of a technological university is being put in place and to the geographical piece. We can come back to that, but I would just mention it in passing to the Deputy. I get Deputy Ó...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: The Deputy is as persuasive as Deputy Ó Cathasaigh. I do not want to suggest that he is in anyway less persuasive.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: What I am trying to do here with the number of 17 is that we have been a long time in arriving at a composition. If I alter one part of the composition, it will have knock-on effects for all the other components. I would say here, to the USI and to the student voice in general, that at the moment they are under the provisions of the Universities Act. There are three to four members of the...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: They have, but the institutions are not my primary and sole constituency here either. I am trying to be able to tell the people of Ireland that I am satisfied that the governance structure works. We have been collaborative on this Bill, so I do not wish to be argumentative. However, if we passed Deputy Conway-Walsh’s amendment No. 150, we would be removing all the reforms to the...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Simon Harris: While I am not accepting amendments Nos. 152, 153 and 155, I will move amendment No. 154, which inserts "including persons who are competent in the Irish language”. We discussed this last time. I do not like the idea of asking people to show how they got on in an exam. We do not ask people on the board of SFI to tell us what they got in their leaving certificate in science. I do...