Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday I raised the issue of the youth guarantee which the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, announced would be discussed during Ireland's Presidency of the EU next year. A number of other colleagues raised issues around this guarantee and youth unemployment. I am grateful to the Leader for reminding us that the Minister for Social Protection will be in the House on 18 October for a debate on social protection during which we will be able to discuss this guarantee. The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Creighton, will be in the House for a debate on EU affairs in the next few weeks and I ask the Leader that we might also be able to cover the issue of the youth guarantee in that debate. It offers a significant prospect of an effective way to tackle youth unemployment which is at unacceptably high levels in Ireland and across the EU and which clearly needs a European-wide response. I spoke about this yesterday and it is something we could all work towards. It would be great to try to address it in this House with the Minister, Deputy Burton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton.

Will the Leader confirm the date of an education debate with the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn? Such a debate might include third level education. Yesterday my colleague and friend, Senator Barrett, rightly raised reports of a recommended merger of Trinity College and UCD. That was on the front pages of the newspapers yesterday arising from a report commissioned by the Higher Education Authority. Senator Barrett made some justified criticism of the nature of that report. His criticism has been even further vindicated today. The HEA has questions to answer about the reason it commissioned this report, from whom it commissioned it and how it was carried out. I saw reports that it was carried out based on a portfolio of information supplied to the international experts. I do not see any indication that they visited any of the universities, institutes of technology or third level institutions or that they spoke to any stakeholders. I know, as would Senator Barrett and others, having been involved in academic assessments of other institutions and departments in universities, that one of the first things one does is go to the university or institution and try to see how it works in practice through speaking to all of the stakeholders, including the students, lecturers and so on. There are real questions to be answered about this report and I am glad the Minister, Deputy Quinn, has come out very strongly against it, in particular this proposed merger, describing it as unfeasible. He is right about that.

I commend the members of GLEN and BeLonG To and other groups which helped us greatly yesterday in briefing Senators in advance of the debate on homophobic bullying which was addressed by the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Lynch. It was a good debate and in her response to the speeches on homophobic bullying, the Minister of State made a point of saying how useful she had found it and how valuable she found Seanad debates generally. It was good to see stakeholders and members of GLEN in the Visitors' Gallery. We all appreciated that.