Liam Fitzgerald (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I could not agree more with the final remarks of Senator Ulick Burke. They are extremely relevant and I know the Minister will examine them closely. I have seen many examples down through the years which illustrate what the Senator spoke about.

When I read the Minister's speech on Second Stage in the Dáil, I was reminded of the 1980s, the times we served together on the City of Dublin VEC and the DIT and the crusade or voyage we embarked upon in 1985 and onwards. I am telling a little secret but the Leader of the House was the main Opposition spokesperson on education and I was her deputy. I am letting the cat out of the bag by saying that from time to time, I had reason to consult her about various measures I was taking in my capacity as chairman of the City of Dublin VEC, which was responsible for the DIT. We will say no more about this.

Some of the things that encapsulate what we are talking about here are innovation, a pioneering spirit, pushing out the frontiers and application. When I think about these words and terms and the significance and rich symbolism attached to them in terms of education, I think of the work done by the Department of Education and Science, St. Patrick's College, where I spent a number of years, University College Dublin, where I spent four years and the DIT.

I wish to focus in particular on the DIT because it is where I cut my educational and political teeth during the six years or more I spent there in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I was delighted to hear in the last few days about another pioneering and innovative initiative, namely, the provision of a master of arts in public affairs and political communications at the DIT from next September. This new course involves an internship in a number of significant public and private bodies, including Seanad Éireann. The DIT is making this course available to young postgraduates to enable them to have a greater understanding of the affairs of State and how they work. This is a pioneering, innovative and creative initiative and I salute once again the great spirit with which the DIT has been imbued throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, during which I had the privilege to be a part, albeit a small one, of this institution.

I must revisit my recollections because they are many, varied and very rich. Some of them are slightly negative in respect of measures I took as chairman of the City of Dublin VEC which I did not get away with. My recollections include discussions that took place at meetings of the City of Dublin VEC and the governing body of the DIT. It is only fair to admit that, from time to time, I had reason and opportunity to consult with certain people outside the general structure, which benefited me as it provided me with guidance on how to move the entire structure forward. We must remember that at that time, the City of Dublin VEC-DIT was the largest educational institution in the State. To the best of my knowledge, the DIT is probably the largest third level institution in terms of student population, although I am open to contradiction. However, if I am wrong, I am only marginally so.

Referring back to the speech made by the Minister on Second Stage in the Dáil, it is quite clear that most of us share a common vision with the Minister and Minister of State. I previously spoke about this vision when I spoke about adult and further education in this House a few weeks ago. First of all, we believe that in respect of the future of third level education and the merits and the significance of the binary system of higher education, the diversities in the binary system are complimentary, rather than adversarial. This view has been endorsed by all parties in this House, successive Governments and the OECD.

Back in the 1980s, we knew, as members of the City of Dublin VEC, that we had a considerable challenge on our hands in respect of the DIT and its position and that we had to turn that challenge into an opportunity. Every member of the City of Dublin VEC knew that the DIT had grown as a kind of a hybrid, if this is the correct expression, that it had reached its full potential within the organisational structures under which it had operated, and needed a new sense of freedom. I was unsure as to whether I knew exactly where it should go. On one occasion, I passionately but unsuccessfully tried to turn the DIT into some form of new university or polytechnic but my hand was stayed by stronger forces. I was the only individual who supported this course of action and one man cannot always do everything even if he is chairman.

The Minister's closing remarks on Second Stage in the Dáil referred to the legislation she is bringing before us, which the Minister of State has brought before this House today, as a major milestone for the institutes of technology and the higher education sector in general and for the development of higher education in Ireland. I would go further and say that the legislation the Minister of State is bringing before us today is a major milestone for education in general in Ireland. This is because both the Minister's Second Stage speech and the Minister of State's speech here today contain very apt references to the totality of the educational journey, of which the institutes of technology form one constituent part. There is no doubt as to the great strategic importance of technological education in Ireland. It was of great strategic importance throughout the 1980s and 1990s and it is even more so today.

Even though it was not formally recognised by the Department of Education at that time as the DIT, the institution was known as the DIT before 1985. We must acknowledge that the generation before us, who were part of the forming of the DIT and its sister RTCs, had a clear vision for the future of Ireland. It was clearly articulated and expressed throughout the development of technological education and the manner in which it was an offspring of many different strands of educational experiences that had preceded those structures in the educational journey.

When I spoke recently about adult and further education, I quoted the vision to which I referred. I will quote it again because it is as relevant today as when I first quoted it in the debate on adult education a few weeks ago. According to the document, "our vision is of an inclusive Irish educational education which provides equal access to lifelong learning opportunities for all adults". While this vision might appear more relevant to adult education, it applies to the totality of the educational experience from the age of four to the age of 90 and beyond. I am aware that this is just one of many ways of articulating it.

Partnership was one of the themes mentioned by me during the debate on adult education. I must revisit it today because it permeates the speeches of both the Minister and Minister of State. I constantly stress partnership, not merely in education, but also in many other areas because it works. It is necessary to bring all the stakeholders and partners along with one when one has a vision, target or set of objectives, irrespective of whether they are national, regional or local. One must bring all the partners with one if one is to be truly successful.

I will be consistent and set aside that famous phrase of the late, great Brian Lenihan regarding the futility of consistency because it was a tongue-in-cheek remark. Consistency in respect of the journey here is very important. If he were alive today, I know that the late Brian Lenihan, as a former Minister for Education, would warmly and enthusiastically embrace this view. Both the Minister on Second Stage in the Dáil and the Minister of State here today have spoken about bringing all the constituent parts of Government together in this partnership. It is not simply a matter for the Department of Education and Science. The Minister and Minister of State are not being exclusive in respect of this journey. The process involves the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Agriculture and Food, as well as other Departments, all of which affect research. It involves bringing the educational journey forward to the next milestone.

In the same way, the constituent parts within education, from primary through to secondary and into third level and fourth level, can no longer be fragmented entities because education in the present and future has to be seen as a partnership of equals with everyone contributing their own professional input. In this Bill, the Minister has correctly gone to great lengths to emphasise that when it comes to talking about institutes of technology, one is talking about education itself in its totality and the role played by the institutes of technology in the total educational experience. They are part of what must become an even more integrated and inclusive journey. Nothing else will work if education is to take on the economic and social challenges of the future.

The White Paper on Adult Education, the only such White Paper ever produced, elucidated that adult education must be viewed differently. The OECD report, when completing its review of higher education in Ireland in 2004, complimented Ireland on its binary system of third level education. However, one of its key recommendations, to which the Minister of State and the Minister referred, was that while we retain the difference between universities and institutes of technology, they must be brought under the remit of a single authority for the purpose of a unified higher education strategy if all of the adversarial silos are to be cast into the dustbin of history, as education is an empowering factor in society and the economy. The Bill will do such, as it rightly implements the recommendations.

The central purpose of the OECD report was to support the strategic ambition of placing our higher education system at the top of our wider national objective of developing a world leading economy and society. The report recommended that the extent of external regulation of the institutes should be lightened, which is provided for in the Bill. As we recommended but did not clearly articulate in the 1980s, the report called for DIT and the institutes to be given greater managerial freedom in responding to their opportunities and challenges to support local, regional, national, social and economic developments. We are not discussing challenges and opportunities for the sake of DIT, which was only an instrument.

Recently, there have been many exciting initiatives in this area. In recent decades, there have been futuristic developments in education that have brought Ireland to where it is today. Due to the emphasis on technical and scientific education and research, the few critics still standing would have us believe that we are passionately in pursuit of a utilitarian approach, to which the Minister of State referred and of which we learned years ago in economics classes. I reject that assertion completely for a number of reasons. For example, the inclusiveness and extent of access to and support for participation in education at all levels is a wonder to behold in terms of structure, money and front-loading, but we all accept — the Minister and Minister of State included — that a great deal remains to be done.

People who were traditionally excluded, both formally and informally, from the education system due to being disabled or opting out due to a lack of money or where they lived are now being invited to participate. We are providing them with guidance on how to join and ladders through the various structures, such as secondary schools, plcs and so on. We will help them to travel the whole journey by providing financial supports or, in some cases, by using wide and innovative methods.

While I am testing the Cathaoirleach's patience because I am running out of time, I want to commend the important objectives of the strategic innovation fund. Not only are they at the centre of a significant reform programme, they form part of the catalyst to bring the apparently adversarial sectors of third level and higher education together to focus on a common strategy, for which purpose those sectors were established and should remain.

I wish to refer to the PRTLI and the national research plan. I understand that the Minister has advanced the latter by introducing the agenda for its establishment, which will shortly be announced. It is consistent with her approach that the plan will integrate research activities across the relevant Departments, institutes and agencies, educational and otherwise, involved in research. I want to invoke the sentiments of a former critic of the Minister and the Government, Mr. Danny O'Hare. Not everyone shares his views, including me, but it is appropriate——