Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I begin by welcoming the Minister to the House. I think it is the first time she has been here for an education debate since her appointment and I wish her all the best in her work. If the section relating to institutions marketing themselves as universities outside Ireland but not within the State is to remain, certainly the changes need to be made as suggested by Senator Barrett. Like Senator Norris, I also have concerns about that aspect of the Bill. I have serious reservations about it because the Bill sets a precedent in terms of radically changing the existing system we have of restricting for good reason and safeguarding the use of the title of "university".

The reason we have such a strict system for protecting the title is to protect the reputation of our education system both at home and abroad and to make sure we do not end up in the same position as the UK a few years ago where any college could call itself a university. I appreciate the legislation is clearly designed to address the concerns of one institution and it is restricted in that respect but I wonder whether this is the best approach to dealing with the issue.

While the Bill is not entitled the RCSI (amendment) Bill, it is designed to address the concerns of the RCSI, an institution which is not designated a university under section 4 of the Universities Act and which, because of section 52 of that Act, is restricted from using the title "university" within the State. I have sympathy for the RCSI's position when it is marketing itself abroad. Nobody could have a query about the high quality of the medical education provided by the college both to domestic and foreign students and the educational component of what they provide abroad. While I have no concerns about the educational aspect of its training, it would be better if we were open and honest about the purpose of the legislation. On the previous occasion it was taken in the House, I was away on business. I had just left when I received a schedule which referred to the legislation. The Bill had not been published and I had no idea what it was about but it was debated in the House three or four days later. It is incredibly important legislation and the way it has been approached in the context of how it was introduced in the House has not been helpful. It would have been better if it had been made clear from the beginning that it was designed to address a particular concern of the RCSI and we could have had a proper discussion on the best way to address that.

My main concern about permitting an institution to call itself a university abroad and not here is it looks duplicitous. There is something fundamentally disingenuous about telling prospective students one thing abroad, enticing them here on that basis and then them finding out something else when they get here. It is wrong and misguided. I accept that the college has concerns. Many of our institutions face difficulties when marketing themselves abroad because any two-bit institution in the UK can call itself a university and our finest institutes of technology, the RCSI and other institutions that provide top class education cannot. Is this the best way of addressing that? It might be better instead if we considered whether we should call the RCSI a medical university both at home and abroad and accept the fact it will never be a university because it does not provide the broad, interdisciplinary education one expects from one. It would never, therefore, aspire as an institution to that title. However, it provides top class medical education and, therefore, instead of selling a double message at home and abroad, which could be considered duplicitous, we should consider whether the RCSI should be called a medical university both at home and abroad. That would be a better approach. As part of that, any institution that wants to use the title "university" would have to have in place the governance structures expected of TCD, UCD and other universities. Let us have one system that is fair and transparent.

I have serious concerns about what is proposed. I accept there is an issue in the context of institutions marketing themselves abroad. Perhaps a better way to address that would be to ramp up the activities of Education in Ireland. In 2010, the previous Government set out a strategy, Investing in Global Relationships, Ireland's International Education Strategy 2010-2015. Some of that remains aspirational. Perhaps we need a greater emphasis on this and putting more resources into attracting international students here. It in an area in which there is massive potential both in the context of revenue for our institutions in the short term but also in the context of longer-term benefits for the economy through having a network of well educated people across the world who were educated in Ireland and who have an affinity with the country to whom we can reach out when building other business, cultural and economic links into the future. I would do anything to help our institutions to compete globally and attract students here but I caution that we need to do it in the right way and the hallmark of everything we do needs to be quality and consistency and making sure Irish education is seen as a leader globally.

I wonder if the approach of allowing an institution to use one title abroad and another at home offers the best way to do it. It is a little dodgy and not the best way of approaching the issue. However, I am happy to work with the Minister in finding a better way to approach it and thus address the concerns of the institution concerned, as well as other institutions in terms of how they market themselves abroad. I am sure the Dublin Institute of Technology, Waterford Institute of Technology and other institutes of technology encounter similar issues when competing with institutions that call themselves universities but do not provide an education anywhere near the standard provided here. It is a big issue which we should perhaps address in a better way.