Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is totally wrong. We are seeing the deficits right across society now. We all have a role, including ourselves as policymakers, to start raising awareness about the real needs of our economy in terms of apprenticeships, engineering graduates and career paths which can start with apprenticeships and end up with degrees and doctorates.

This Bill has the potential to deliver on this. My criticisms are that the colleges, which are aspirational and have really worked hard to raise their game with the courses they deliver, along with staff qualifications, may not be rewarded by the Bill. I agree with Senator Norris in some ways. We must have technological universities. However, there is a place for everybody. Institutes of technology should not be looked at as second class. Regional technical colleges were looked at as second class in the past. It meant that students were moving out of their regions. I gave the example on Second Stage of how over half of leaving certificate students in the south-east region move out of it for third level education. That is not sustainable. It is having a direct impact, not only on the economy of the south-east region but on its society. It brings a mindset that we are second class. By God, we are not second class. We depend on the State, the mechanisms in education, the Civil Service and the HEA not to deprive regions and their citizens access to adequate third level education.

I have suspicions - Senator Norris can call them conspiracy theories if he likes - that the third level funding cake in this country is of a certain size. If the cake has to be sliced up to include an additional university, then the slices become smaller for the rest of the universities. There is resistance to this. I saw that during the campaign for a university for the south east over the past 20 years. Waterford has proved its ability in terms of the courses it offers, the graduates it presents and the commitment of its staff to reach PhD level and high teaching standards. It has reached all of those with one hand tied behind its back.

That is why the argument has always been made for Waterford to have a university. I was delighted when a technological universities Bill was included in the programme for Government in 2011. However, there have been some tweaks about which I am concerned. I will come back to them later on other amendments. We must support those institutions which aspire to high standards and to serve the citizens and their regions. We need to acknowledge the technical colleges, the vocational system and the apprenticeships. We must encourage people through those career paths where there is lifelong learning which opens many doors. We need to be strong in all of these points.

I support this Bill but I will be critical of some aspects concerning eligibility criteria. I believe we are watering down the standards to bring up the lowest common denominator. That is not what education should be about.