David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate my colleagues, in particular Senator Barrett, for this initiative. It is highly significant and very important and shows the value and reflective nature of this House as well as the Senator's capacity to research and put together such a coherent piece of legislation. I very warmly welcome the fact the Government has decided to allow the Bill to continue to Committee Stage. This shows the proper collaborative nature of this House and the Government in the best interests of the citizens, which does not always happen.

It is 20 years since I taught in the university so I am a little bit out of the loop. I am not as close as some of my colleagues to the academic situation but I have several points to make. I wish to pick up on what Senator Bacik stated about the rebranding of Trinity. I have not had any real volume of correspondence about it but as a graduate and former member of staff I am absolutely furious at what is being done. It is an insult. In my opinion it degrades the status of our graduates. I am astonished there has not been more of a row about it.

The university is different to when I was there, when there were 3,000 students. There are now 21,000 students in more or less the same space. It is a very different university which is much less personalised so we have lost this. We need to retain as much as we can of the distinctive character.

The idea of sacrificing the colour blue because in some way it is related to Ryanair is fatuous in the extreme