Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I warmly welcome the Minister to the House. I congratulate her on her elevation and wish her luck. She has been credited with the characteristic of being a bridge builder. Following on from the previous Minister, she has many bridges to build. However, I wish her luck and every success. I hope her days in the Department of Education and Science will be beneficial to all at every level of education.

The decision of the former Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, to close this long-established college without consultation with the relevant parties involved, namely, the staff, governors and students, is deplorable. His continued refusal up to the time of his departure to discuss his decision clearly indicates that it was not based on educational grounds. He completely ignored the professional advice of his own Department's senior personnel, including Mr. Jack O'Brien, former assistant secretary general at the Department of Education and Science, who he appointed as a consultant to report on the options for the future of the college. He later ignored the advice of Mr. Paul Kelly, assistant secretary general at the Department of Education and Science. Taking this into account, how can anyone believe the decision to close St. Catherine's and relocate all teaching facilities in one centre, St. Angela's in Sligo, was anything but politically motivated?

It is important to note the terms of reference set out by the Minister for the consultant's report. These were to examine the options for the future of St. Catherine's in light of the decision by the trustees to withdraw from involvement in the college; to examine the implications of this for the staff; to examine and assess the capital and recurrent cost implications of the various options; and, most importantly, to prepare a report and recommendations for consideration by the Minister for Education and Science in terms of the most appropriate way forward which would ensure the continuation of quality home economics teacher education.

In September 2003, the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, announced the closure of St. Catherine's and stated that St. Angela's in Sligo would become the only teaching college of home economics in the country. There was obvious dismay in St. Catherine's at this announcement. In view of the recent substantial investment in upgrading and refurbishing, including the Department's investment of approximately €1.5 million in recent years, together with the Dominican Sisters resources and other loans guaranteed by the board of management, one was led to believe in the Department's continued commitment to the future of St. Catherine's as a teacher training centre.

The Minister ignored the terms of reference and, on 28 September, in reply to concerns raised by past graduates, he cited his reasons for closure, "having carefully considered the options for the future of the college". These included the national spatial strategy, relevant costs in a time of financial constraint, a Government decision to restrict public service numbers and the need to secure value for money and a better allocation of resources. All four are typical "Dempsey-speak".

Following the decision of the trustees to withdraw, the Department appointed Mr. Jack O'Brien as a consultant to liaise with all relevant parties and to advise on the future options open to the Minister. The study on the future of St. Catherine's College of Home Economics was prepared by Mr. O'Brien and completed on 4 July 2002. The report noted that "an air of uncertainty has hung over St. Catherine's for a considerable time. This has caused great anxiety amongst the staff and has inhibited development of the college's activities." In the conclusion of his report, Mr. O'Brien stated:

I do not favour moving the home economics teacher education provision out of Dublin in view of the personnel and industrial relations problems that would arise in the context of St. Catherine's staff. These difficulties, allied to the additional current cost which would be involved, are significant and should not, in my view, be countenanced if more satisfactory alternatives are available.

Furthermore, he recommended, "that the Department, through the Higher Education Authority, would engage with TCD, UCD and DCU with a view to securing the incorporation of St. Catherine's in one of these universities. I believe further that a merger with UCD would be the most beneficial for the staff and students of St. Catherine's and would be welcomed by them".

The higher education colleges section and the third level building unit made submissions to the Minister in May 2003. This submission noted that, "the question of how to deal with the staff in St. Catherine's would be the most challenging issue to address", with regard to the possible merger with St. Angela's.

Mr. Paul Kelly, assistant secretary in the Department, having regard to the submissions made by the colleges section and the building unit, recommended that St. Catherine's remain open and that a merger with UCD be sought. He specifically identified the recommendations already made in the O'Brien report as well as recent expenditure on refurbishment at the college, the long lead-in time to the transfer of students and the very major industrial relations issues associated with the closure of the college. Why was the secrecy and deliberate exclusion of the staff and governors of St. Catherine's College from the decision-making process necessary?

Following the announcement of the closure by the Minister, the college had to seek access to the consultant's report through the Freedom of Information Act to ascertain the reason for the decision. In a ruling on the matter, the Information Commissioner, in response to Ms Madeleine Mulrennan's appeal as president of the college, severely reprimanded the Department for failing to take public interest provisions into account in refusing the college's request for information. In this regard, the commissioner wrote: "I regard this as a significant omission and a serious defect in the decision making process in this particular case." She also noted that while it had asserted that the release of the documents would have a significant effect, the Department of Education and Science had not specified what would be the adverse effect. She added:

The records sought concern a decision to close a third level college and it is a decision which has very significant implications for existing staff and for potential future students; it is a decision, also, which seems likely to have significant financial implications into the future. In these circumstances, I believe the public interest arguments in favour of openness and accountability are particularly strong.

The former Minister's refusal to meet the staff of St. Catherine's College shows complete disregard for the magnificent contribution of the Dominican Order since 1910, the continued contributions to education of highly qualified, excellent teachers, the recommendations of a consultant appointed to advise on the best options for the future and the advice of a senior Department official. The Minister can reverse this appalling litany of disregard by agreeing, as a matter of urgency, to meet all relevant parties at St. Catherine's with a view to allowing for the continuation of teacher training. as recommended by the reports available to her in the Department. There are no educational, economic or other reasons which support the decision to close St. Catherine's College.

At a time when it is Government policy to increase awareness of food science and hygiene, good nutrition and the need to tackle the growing problem of obesity, the continuation of training sufficient home economics teachers would surely assist in achieving this goal. Why is it not possible to have two centres of excellence? St. Catherine's College could, as recommended in the O'Brien report, be incorporated in a third level university to maintain the status of its qualifications, while St. Angela's College in Sligo could be the second such centre. Both could continue to operate successfully.

Will the Minister immediately offer to meet the board of governors, staff and management of St. Catherine's College so that her predecessor's decision, which has no educational basis, can be reversed and quality home economics teaching can be allowed to continue without disruption? We have had enough disruption in recent years. The Minister must not embark on her period in office by allowing this matter to fester.