Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

On behalf of the Labour Party I support this Bill and the proposed changes proposed for University College Galway. In a general sense, I support the principle of the legislation because it proposes to introduce a more flexible and holistic approach to the Irish language as opposed to the more technical, restrictive and discriminatory approach.

There is a need for this type of approach to the Irish language generally. The Fine Gael leader's approach to the Irish language may have been to jump in and give a response to different issues without considering all the different aspects. We must examine the way the language is taught. Perhaps there should be a White Paper on it. Our approach to the Irish language may be contributing to it becoming less popular.

I could not understand most of what Senator O'Toole said. While I am one of these people who was taught Irish throughout my school years, I can neither speak nor understand it. Perhaps I could understand it if it was written better. Much of this is my fault, about which I must do something. Many people are in the same position. There is a perception among many people that the Irish language movement is elitist. This may be because people are faced with an all or nothing choice. Some people may not wish to speak the language because, given their limited skills, they may think people will be annoyed because they are making a mess of it or whatever. Something must be done about the way Irish is taught in our education system. There must be a consensus and consultations must take place on the issue.

I hope colleges will introduce more modular-based teaching. While I am not as familiar as other speakers with University College Galway, I know the university will move in that direction. There is a need to provide a more flexible model of third level education. As I said previously, it is one of the most important aspects when it comes to equality of access to education and so on. Opportunities must be provided for people to access third level education throughout their lives. If they do not have an opportunity to access it directly after leaving secondary school, they should have an opportunity to do so later.

We all need the opportunity to upskill. In order to do so, a more flexible model of education should be introduced that would allow people to study part time during the day. There are many ways of doing so. One could drop out and go back in at a different stage, or one could move on to different levels along the way. For example, one could study for a degree and so on. The universities need to do more in that regard, including University College Galway. While a lot is being done, much more needs to be done.

The Minister must ensure that people who study part time have the same equality of access to education as people who study full time. I suggested previously to the Minister that she must fund colleges per credit, so that they are funded by delivery of the credit of a course as opposed to the year and so on. This should be done in a way that would provide free tuition for part-time students similar to people on corresponding full-time courses.

I congratulate the Minister on her recent announcement of funding for the third level sector. I made representations to her about IT Tallaght, which is the third level institution in the area I represent. I am a public representative for South County Dublin. It is a positive move by the Minister which is important for all the colleges concerned. IT Tallaght did a certain amount of work to try to get more people from the area to go to college. In order to achieve this, the college needed greater capacity, for which the funding will be very important.

Given the funding which has been made available, colleges should do more to provide access for people from the different social classes. They should encourage people from their own area to go to college, whether part time or full time. Colleges have a duty in that regard because they are receiving taxpayers' money.

Free part-time education is the next issue that must be dealt with. This has been called for by Aontas and the various studies the Minister has on her table such as the report of the task force on lifelong learning. The Minister will be familiar with other reports which conclude that part-time students should be treated in the same way as full-time students.

I welcome the general thrust of the Bill. I would like to take this opportunity to raise the plight of Ms Marie-Therese O'Loughlin. Is there a possibility that the institution she attended would be included in the Schedule to the redress Act? There is a legal argument that the Minister could consider doing so. I hope the issue is being considered fully by the Minister.