Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá mé as seasamh inniu ag ardú ceiste a d'ardaigh mé roimhe seo ach tá cora tagtha sa scéal ó taobh chúrsaí cothromaíochta de sna hinstitiúidí tríú leibhéal. Ceapaim go bhfuil géarghá le díospóireacht faoi seo ag an leibhéal is airde. I have raised previously issues of equality in third level institutions, which we need to look at again. There are specific issues at NUI Galway, but this is not a stand-alone institution in this regard. Outrageous information came to light last week about a questionnaire sent to two employees in the university which asked some very invasive questions. The issue relates particularly to female candidates looking for positions at the university. A task force to look at equality issues is being announced by the NUIG governing body on Friday. There have been calls for any investigation into equality issues at NUIG to be carried out in an independent and transparent manner, but the task force which has been put together has an awful lot of insiders and management types in its ranks, while there is no recognition whatsoever of unions or employees. I note that even the student representative will be tagged on at a later date. This calls into question the ability of NUIG to investigate itself. They have decided that they will investigate themselves as the Garda Síochána and other institutions have done, and this is completely unacceptable.

We should ask the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, to come in to discuss equality issues across third level. When I asked representatives of the Higher Education Authority if they were they concerned about the issues, they said this was an issue across third level. What is happening in NUIG is regrettable and the make-up of the task force is unacceptable in any shape or form. We need an independent review and the judgment of the governing body and the president have to be called into question in this situation.