Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I cosigned this amendment. I support Senator Norris and have to say that the amendment is better worded than that which I brought through on Committee Stage. The institutions in question have an existing ethos and it is worth exploring it. The report that led to the founding of regional technical colleges, RTCs, in 1967, the Mulcahy report, is the North Star of these institutions.It states:

[W]e do not foresee any final fixed pattern of courses in the colleges. If they are to make their most effective contributions to the needs of society and the economy, they must be capable of continuing adaptation to social, economic and technological changes. Initiative at local and national levels will largely determine how far this vital characteristic is developed. We are concerned that the progress of these colleges should not be deterred by any artificial limitation of either the scope or the level of their educational achievements.

What was wrong with these words in the Mulcahy report half a century ago as regards ethos? The Minister is introducing a fixed pattern of courses that will limit the "effective contributions to the needs of society and the economy", thus limiting the ability of the universities to adapt and shape their own ethos with this artificial limitation no their scope. Ireland is more than an economy. The universities must be built on the broad progressive and enlightened words used to conjure up the institutes of technology.

With reference to amendment No. 6 in my name on Committee Stage which sought to promote the Irish language and collaboration with regional and national agencies to that end, I am surprised that the Bill has gone through the Dáil and has reached this stage without expressing support for the Irish language. It is a shock, having regard to technological university consortia with a Gaeltacht in their area, that the Irish language has not been referred to specifically. The Minister of State might say this is an issue for the institutions, but this House knows that, faced by other pressing demands such as the achievement of academic excellence, higher education institutions on this island shirk their responsibility to promote the language. I, therefore, ask the Minister of State to consider amendment No. 6.