Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter and welcome the Minister for Education and Skills to the House. I thank him for taking this serious matter in respect of the Mayo campus of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.It disappoints me greatly to have to discuss what has happened on the Mayo campus of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. The Mayo campus was established following a long and hard fought campaign dating back to the mid-1980s. The case was fought vigorously by chambers of commerce and educational interests. Mr. Paddy McGuinness ran as a candidate in a by-election in County Mayo in 1994. There had been various commitments given by various Governments over many years, including by the late former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald. There was a realisation there was a need for a Mayo regional technical college, as such colleges were known at the time. The reason a case was made for such a college in Mayo was it was, geographically, the third largest county in Ireland. Besides this, a high percentage of students from the county went on to third level education, more than from any other county at the time. Great sacrifices were made by the parents of students from the county. Free secondary school education was introduced in the late 1960s. Parents fought to send their children to third level institutions, with the result that a case could be made to have a regional technical college in Castlebar. It was eventually rolled out, in association with Galway Regional Technical College. It was felt the best possible thing to do was to have a Mayo campus as part of Galway Regional Technical College, as it was known at the time. This approach was accepted and it was expected courses would be established and linked with a major regional technical college.

The Higher Education Authority was the funding model used for regional technical colleges and various outreach campuses throughout the country, but the Mayo campus involves more than just funding. There is a need for a root and branch review of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and the Castlebar campus, not just in terms of money but also from the point of view of governance.

Some people are afraid to speak out, but they should do so. I have received a large amount of correspondence about what is taking place in Castlebar. Part of a letter I received from a woman reads:

Our campus is particularly angry at this sectarian language that is being used because as far as we are concerned we are part of the same reserves/resources. While we would welcome ring-fenced funding and recognise the financial issues with sustaining the campus, this language of "them and us" is actually an issue that has been a feature of the Mayo campus reality for many years.

Recent letters from the Higher Education Authority have referred to such matters. The letter continues:

The Mayo campus has a vibrant, dynamic community of staff that are utterly dedicated to what we do. We have, over the years, come up with multitudes of solutions to the issues we have faced. I am so frustrated by the fact that we want to do our jobs, we want to fulfil our remit to the region, but unfortunately we have been subjected to a sustained attack and cannibalism of our intellectual property by the Galway Campus.

Whenever resources are mentioned, Mayo have to do everything under existing resources (on the Mayo campus), whereas Mayo Campus resources are considered a "pool of resources" to be shared with Galway. In other words, "what's ours is ours and what's yours is yours." We have been subjected to ridiculous levels of scrutiny, way above and beyond what happens on the Galway Campus or other Institutes when it comes to course validation.

That suggests that when the Mayo campus comes up with a course it wants to run, it has subject o undue validation compared to other institutions throughout the country.

The letter continues:

We also know that enquiries for our courses that go to Galway are often met with apathy, misinformation and deliberate attempts to get them on a course in Galway.

When students in Galway inquire about courses taking place in Castlebar and if a similar course is taking place in Galway, people in Galway push them to go to Galway where everything is much better. Of course, we know this well from the health board previously; Galway wants everything at the expense of Roscommon, Mayo and other counties.

As I have said previously in the House, the Mayo campus has been bullied by the Galway campus for many years and strict action is needed. The Minister needs to investigate the matter. The Mayo campus needs to be looked at in detail. It is much more than a funding issue. I ask the Minister to establish a team of investigation to see what is taking place.