Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----even though the independent commission set up by the Bahraini Government has acknowledged that torture did happen in Bahraini hospitals. The human rights environment in which the RCSI is operating is very poor in Bahrain in particular.

In terms of the training, we would not allow Irish medical students from Trinity College, UCD, the RCSI or any other college train in this State in a hospital where they are not safe and where they would be discriminated against on sectarian grounds or in a hospital where torture has taken place and been condoned by the Government in a health system run by the Ministry of Defence rather than health officials. There are serious issues to be raised in that regard. I accept it is a side issue to this debate but as Senator Norris opened the door for me, I am happy to walk through it and reiterate my concerns in that regard.

It is an issue not just for the RCSI as an institution but also for the reputation of the country in terms of the environments in which our institutions operate, particularly if they carry the stamp of approval from the Department of Education and Skills and are looking for the stamp of approval from the Irish Medical Council to use the term "university". What such institutions do reflects not only on them but on the system as a whole.

As I said, if we want to compete abroad, it has to be on the basis of quality and respect for human rights. It is on the basis of making us a beacon for education and best practice internationally that we will win, not in making short-term decisions to become involved in areas in which education standards are dubious.