Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and note my gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to this important Second Stage debate. I noted from the Minister of State's speech yesterday that she has already accepted a number of amendments to strengthen the Bill in the Dáil, which is a good approach to adopt in respect of legislation on a critical issue like education. I recognise the fact that the Bill was introduced on the back of the report on the national strategy in education 2030 and the recommendations contained therein. The report recommended significant reform and consolidation in the institutes of technology sector to allow these bodies to progress to technological university status where they reach certain standards and performance criteria.

I support the Bill, albeit a number of aspects worry me. The Minister of State may be able to assuage those worries for me. While consolidation may refer to building efficiency and collaboration within the sector, it may also refer to protecting a cost base for other reasons within third level institutes.Legitimate questions have been raised in that regard: is it consolidation of an existing budget or, rather, it using the budget more efficiently to better serve our citizens and education? I suspect it is the latter - to serve our citizens and education in a better and more holistic way. I welcome the multiple references to the regions by the Minister of State in her contribution, to which I will return.

The institutes of technology are not being forced into this process. There is a voluntary application process whereby an institute must collaborate with two or more institutes to achieve technological university status. In order to achieve such university status, it is important that they fulfil the performance criteria laid out under section 28. I note those criteria, which it is important to state for the record. The criteria set out in a robust performance threshold for institutions that wish to become technological universities include the composition of the student body, which must contain a certain number of students; the composition of the academic staff; doctoral level education and research activities; and the ability to perform the functions of a technological university, with particular reference to its governance structures, links to regional stakeholders, collaborations with other institutes, quality assurance and enhancement and the mobility of staff and students. Those are rightly very high standards and they must be met.

I wish to focus on the regional aspects of the Bill because the south-east region, from which I come, is the only region in the country that does not have access to a university. That has had a direct consequence for and impact on the economy of the region. In recent years, more than half of students in leaving certificate classes have left the region to attend higher level education elsewhere. That is worrying because Waterford and Carlow institutes of technology are excellent institutions. However, even with them in place, almost two thirds of leaving certificate students leave the region. That would be fine if they were leaving the region for education and returning thereafter but many find employment outside the region and, unfortunately, continue to reside outside the region. They do not come home. That is having an impact on the region in terms of brain drain, educational attainment at higher level, as is evident from the CSO statistics, and there are direct consequences for the local economy in terms of the quality of jobs, the attractiveness of the region and retail spend. Everything across society in the south east is affected because there is no local university. The Bill, which I thank the Government and Minister of State for bringing forward, presents an opportunity for Waterford and Carlow institutes of technology to progress a joint application in order that a technological university for the south east be developed.

However, concerns have been raised which the Minister of State may be able to address in her response or on later Stages. There is often resistance at various levels to a proposed change but the concerns in this regard include the fear that this is a merger process to consolidate finances. I do not agree with such concerns, and nor does the Minister of State, as she has indicated, but that must be publicly addressed. Some opponents of the legislation and technological universities mergers have stated that it is only a change of the name over the door. I do not agree with that view. For the Bill to be successful, we need to engage the public and stakeholders and spell out how this reform of higher level education can bring benefits to the regions. The institutes of technology have expertise and work very closely with industry and in the regions in terms of apprenticeships, construction, science and engineering and have now expanded into humanities, business and legal degrees.

The Bill is a huge opportunity and I welcome it but it remains to be seen how effective it will be on the ground. I encourage the institutes of technology, in particular in my own region of Waterford and Carlow, to come together, as they have done in a very positive way, to deliver for the citizens of the south-east region. It is long overdue. The Bill lays a pathway for delivery of high quality third level degrees that can build and deliver for the south-east region as other universities have in their areas.