Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, to the House and I am particularly delighted he is using modern technology in giving his speech and finding Leinster House today with GPS. I also welcome the decision of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, not to oppose the Higher Education and Research (Consolidation and Improvement) Bill 2014. I want to touch on a couple of areas related to the Bill and ideas that could be considered in the context of the legislation.

One point that always bothers me when there is any discussion about universities is there is no mention of them from the business perspective. Masters and PhDs are presented as some sort of social benefit which a higher education institution is kindly providing. In reality, they are the cash cows that keep universities afloat. Indeed, many people are pushed towards them even if they are unsuited or allowed to undertake them if they stump up their several thousand euro. I want to see this area cleared up. We should be much more honest and recognise these degrees are done on a business model, namely, to make money. That would be much fairer to the customer, those that undertake such degrees.

This Bill attempts to further the concept of academic freedom and academic tenure which needs a bit more discussion. That is why I am glad the Minister wants to allow this Bill to proceed to Committee Stage. I note there is some opposition to the idea of academic tenure. The Economist recently stated about business schools in the United States that "tenured academics are untouchable and can block any change in a school". Obviously, we do not want a situation like this. Senator Barrett explains tenure is not that one can never be fired but that no one can be fired based on the grounds of discovering an unpopular research result or teaching a controversial subject. I welcome this strengthening of the area but we must understand academics also follow the money. I am not arguing that climate change is man-made or not. However, billions of euro are available for research to prove that climate change is man-made. Indeed, there may be many more instances of what could be called “one-sided research”. How do we attempt to give some balance in, say, the body of research on hydraulic fracturing or genetically modified food? Perhaps, even in this Bill, could we ensure some percentage of funds for academic research goes to what could be termed "anti-consensus research"? That would be something that gives a nudge and would mark out our academic system as one that is not afraid to give difficult answers.

Will this Bill give us the opportunity to highlight the need to consider the role that private universities or institutions have in our higher education sector? I was involved in the Springboard programme and was impressed at the variety and range of subjects offered by private universities, as well as the traditional universities. Should the Government be obliged to make some sort of commitment or even give financial support to private universities? Other countries have recognised that, by supporting this sector, it can play a big part in tackling youth unemployment. Indeed, this would be a concrete step to show the Government is committed to upskilling and progressing further education.

This is the thinking in Brazil where its Government gives a 10% subsidy to private colleges with the obvious payback that it has a more educated workforce, and youth workforce in particular. We need to realise that people are going to move much more to online education. Ms Lynda Gratton of the London Business School says there is likely to be a wave of innovation in further education, particularly online, that will cater to this need in a more flexible, personalised way than the traditional degree or postgraduate course. Mr. Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor and author of The Innovative University, predicts wholesale bankruptcies over the next decade among standard universities if they do not exploit the online market. This is a real challenge but a significant opportunity. Is Ireland going to be left behind in this respect? I do not believe so because I have high regard for the competence of our universities. There are some moves in this area but much more can be done. The Government can do more to support this area and more reference to this area needs to be made.

These are the very points we can make on Committee Stage. I am delighted the Ministers have accepted this Bill’s Second Stage. I look forward to further discussions on Committee Stage and we can sort out the many other challenges facing the sector. I congratulate Senator Barrett on this well thought out Bill. That does not mean we cannot make amendments to it on Committee Stage.