Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

For reference purposes amendments Nos. 41 to 43, inclusive, are grouped together as they all relate to the board of the new authority. Amendment No. 42 provides for two learner representatives to sit on the board of the QQAAI, one of whom shall be explicitly nominated by the Union of Students in Ireland. It was initially proposed to include one learner representative on the board, however, following reflection on the arguments made by Senator Power in this House and by her colleague, Deputy Smith, in Dáil Éireann, I recognised the merit of making specific provision in the Bill for USI to make a nomination to the board of the new authority. The provision in amendment No. 42 for two learner representatives to be included on the board of the new authority, means that USI can be accommodated as a nominating body but there is also scope for the second learner representative to be representative of the further and adult education sector, which is less formally constructed and is not clearly represented.

There is clearly a confederal USI group overarching for students coming straight from second level schools in the main. As there is not the same type of organisational structure some discretion must be exercised in the appointment of the second person. In response to what Senator Power and others said I wanted to explicitly recognise USI because of the constructive contribution it has been making in recent years.

Amendment No. 41 provides for an increase in the size of the board from eight to ten, accordingly. This will ensure that the two learner representatives will provide a strong voice at the board for learners' interests but that the enlarged board will also have a balanced membership. As a result of this group of amendments, five positions on the boards will now be reserved - the chair, the CEO, an international expert and the two student learner representatives, respectively.

Amendment No. 43 provides for an increase in the quorum required for a meeting of the authority from four to five members of the board. This is a procedural necessity as a result of the increase in the size of the board from eight to ten members.