Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and acknowledge the enormous work she has done in fast-tracking this legislation and pushing it along. It is clear from what she has told us this evening that she has accommodated concerns. She outlined in some detail the three key issues in discussions that took place. I wish to acknowledge that from my understanding, as part of these preconditions and the consultation process leading up to this legislation, we are safeguarding the terms and conditions of service of staff members in what are currently institutes of technology. We have strengthened the regional missions of technological universities. We have streamlined the application process, with the mergers and designations happening at the final stage to address concerns raised by both staff and management that some consortium might get stuck in the process, merging but subsequently failing to gain technological university status.

The final issue to which I wish to turn is the composition of the governing bodies. As someone who works very closely with the sitting local government bodies across the country, particularly with the city and county councils, I have received representations concerning the way they would be represented. I have a schedule, and I am somewhat surprised to see that more than 175 city and county councillors have made a representation to Educational and Training Boards Ireland, ETBI, and various nomination processes. ETBI suggests that the proposed legislation should be amended, or certainly re-examined, with a view to including at least six representatives of local education and training boards on the governing bodies of the technological universities, with the proviso that there would be a representative mix of local authority members from all relevant counties.

I think that is a very fair and reasonable request. At some level, be it on the actual governing body or on a consultative body at another layer, there is a role for city and county councillors, and I ask the Minister of State to take that on board.