Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and welcome the Bill before us. It has been progressing since 2014 and there has certainly been a great deal of work and consultation put into it. The national strategy for higher education 2030 is seeking significant reform to position the sector to meet national strategic objectives. It is important that governance reform is very much part of the Bill. There is a regional mission to support development and innovation to compete nationally and internationally.

I sat on the governing body of Limerick Institute of Technology which is not referred to in the Bill and which is in a slightly different situation as it amalgamated with Tipperary Institute in the past. There are three institutions of higher education in Limerick and the Minister has visited all of them, namely, Mary Immaculate College, the University of Limerick and Limerick Institute of Technology, LIT. These institutions formed the Shannon consortium in 2010 when I was Mayor of Limerick. It was a very welcome initiative in which Tralee IT was also involved. There has been a great deal of collaboration among these institutions to educate people and to run complementary courses.

Reading the Bill and looking at the different sectors, something similar is envisaged in terms of creating courses which complement each other. Some people might complete a certificate or diploma at one location and go on to do a degree in another part. It will be very positive for the region involved. We have certainly found in Limerick that what we have been doing has been very positive for the region. Collaboration with SMEs is mentioned in the Bill, which is most important, in particular regarding apprenticeships on which the Department is placing a great deal of emphasis currently. I note in that regard that Troy film studio has now located in Limerick and that LIT is running an apprenticeship programme to train people for employment in set design, hair and make up and so on. As such, it is important to look at the needs of the region.

The position of president has been mentioned. While I welcome the fact that the person will be appointed for no longer than ten years in total, there is no mention of whether a reappointment must come to the governing body after interview and so on. Will that provide scope for the governing body to have a say as to whether the person will be reappointed exist? Technological universities will deliver a range of disciplines, which is welcome. It relates to my point about collaboration with industry in the local region. Areas are like clusters. We were talking about the national planning framework in the House last week and the need to create a counterbalance to the east coast in the west. It is important in that context that these education clusters complement each other. I am sure there will be a great deal of collaboration between the technological university groups which will learn from their own experience.

I am glad to see the Bill address issues which arose during the consultation process. These included the safeguarding of the terms and conditions of staff. This is most important. There is a great deal of emphasis on that in the Bill. The regional mission of the technological universities has been strengthened and the application process and the composition of the governing bodies have been addressed. I am delighted to compliment the Government for taking on board issues that were raised. It is very important to ensure the door is kept open for other areas. I also compliment the Government for providing for gender balance in the 40-40 provision with balance of representation being allowed to go either way. It is very important. We used to have quite a mix in the gender balance at LIT, but some other governing bodies were not balanced. I say "Well done" and look forward to hearing from other Members.