Seanad debates

Wednesday, 7 February 2018

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Committee Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Rónán MullenRónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

From listening to the debate so far it is clear to me that everybody wants to see the speedy passage of this legislation so that we can move on to this new era which offers so much promise to many of our students. It is not going to be compulsory, but some colleges have done a huge amount of work with a view to merging and enjoying university status as technological universities. It is also important to note that, although we are a separate House and a review chamber, an awful lot of work has been done in the Dáil on Committee Stage. Some of the issues which we are looking at are not coming up for the first time. Normally, my concern with the role of the Seanad as a review chamber is that we should manage to spot particular things which have not been properly considered. I would divide the proposed amendments into two categories. Some are technically correct but not massively important as I see it. I disagree with the principle or premise behind others.

On the issue of the nomenclature, I am a former students' union president for my own university in Galway. I may have been a different kind of radical to the kind that Senator Gavan seems to enjoy having around, but I was reasonably effective in my own small way. At the time University College Galway was not part of the great Union of Students in Ireland, USI, behemoth. I confess that I am not aware of the current position but these thing are always subject to change.

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