Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I broadly welcome the report, which offers us the opportunity to discuss higher education. The report provides a framework for ongoing development and outlines parameters for legislative provision. It also suggests constructive pathways forward in terms of governance, the size of governing bodies, the need for greater flexibility in salary structures and so forth.

However, the report does not select the right options in a number of key areas. As Senator O'Toole pointed out, there is no mention of e-learning in the report, which is unbelievable. Parity of esteem between the institutions of higher education must go beyond the rhetoric in the report. An inclusive legislative framework is required to underpin and structure institutions in a way that is inclusive and equitable. The tertiary education authority recommended in the report is the principal device by which inclusivity can be accomplished. It is important that the institutes of technology and the universities are not set apart from each other, as the report recommends. Other speakers referred to the situation with doctorates. That is crazy. If the report's proposal were to be implemented, it would be divisive and unworkable in the long term. It smacks of a partitionist mentality.

My colleague, Senator Kenneally, spoke about Waterford and the south east. Recommendation No. 1 in the report is unacceptable, although there may well be circumstances in the future which we cannot anticipate now which would change this perspective. The south east is the only geographical region without a university. Are we now to accept that Waterford and the south east will never have a university? Such a recommendation goes against the grain of democracy. It is a cause of concern for the people of Waterford and the south east.

The deficit of higher education provision in the south east has long been recognised in previous officially commissioned reports, particularly the Sexton report. Waterford is the only gateway city not to have a university and an institute of technology. The region is dependent on traditional manufacturing and agriculture for much of its employment. With those sectors in decline, however, the region must create knowledge-based industries if it is to create sustainable employment. This cannot happen without the appropriate research infrastructure. A university is required to provide it.

Participation in education is a cornerstone of the development of a sustainable workforce. However, under the OECD report the opportunities to participate would be severely limited for regions which do not have university access. Waterford Institute of Technology, although successful, cannot continue to provide for all the imperatives within the current legislative and resource boundaries. It must be given university status to enable the region to maximise its economic growth potential. The region is well below the national average in many economic indicators, such as employment in advance sectors, disposable income, university participation rates and research funding.

The south east does not want a replica of other universities. It needs a different, regional model which is inclusive rather than exclusive. A university model that is inclusive of all the needs and purposes of the region should be planned and supported. It should be a model for future inward investment, a sustained instrument for economic growth, a key factor in widening participation in third level education and, indeed, a core component in meaningful plans for decentralisation and the decongestion of Dublin.

Only 22% of the south-east region's workforce has a third level education, compared with a national average of 30%. Disposable income per capita in the south east is the lowest in the country, even lower than that of the BMW region. It is the first destination for only 3% of graduates. Employment in advance sectors in the south east is only 25% of the workforce, compared with 62% in Dublin, 54% in the mid-west, 51% in the west and 46% in the south west. Less than 1% of research grants are awarded to the south east. This is a scandal. People might think that the south east is prospering but these are the facts.

The campaign for a university for the south east is irreversible. The case has been made and the facts are irrefutable. Leading academics, even in the university sector, accept this privately and, in some instances, publicly. Now is the time to end this injustice to the people of the south east.

Some of the recommendations in the report should be considered but the recommendation in this regard should be binned, like several others. This point was made by Senator O'Toole and other speakers. While the report addresses certain important matters it cannot be considered, and should not be taken as, a blueprint for third level education in the future.