Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

There have been concerns, including over the funding or defunding of the students' union in Dublin Institute of Technology, but they have been resolved.These issues were largely debated here. We do not want every concern to be debated here. That is not appropriate. We want to make sure that there are fora and procedures within the institutions themselves where these issues can be resolved. It is not appropriate to be airing these fights and having discussions and students' concerns routed through the legislative space. We want to make sure there is capacity within our institutions to support constructive dialogue appropriately between all stakeholders. That is what we are looking to do. It is not a slight and it is certainly not a matter of taking sides. I take issue with the comments made in that regard. We are all in support of technological universities coming into being, however, we want to make sure that it is done to the best of our ability. That is our job as legislators.