Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendments Nos. 1 and 32 address the use of the title "university" in the State. Amendment No. 1 represents a consequential change to the Long Title and is required in order to ensure that amendment No. 32 is captured in the scope of this Bill. Amendment No. 32 is an amendment to the Universities Act 1997 to establish a new pathway for institutions to access and use the title of "university". The proposed use of the title "university" in the State by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, RCSI, has arisen several times in recent years. I have visited the RCSI on many occasions. From my engagement with the staff and students of the college, as well as my knowledge of its international activities, I am conscious of the unique contribution it has made to higher education, the health system and society in general. The RCSI is a statutory body and a statutory degree-awarding institution. The college has established an outstanding reputation in Ireland and internationally for the quality of its education and training as well as its excellence in research and service to society. I share the sentiments that Members of this House previously expressed regarding the high status and reputation of the RCSI and its performance in the context of certain key characteristics of a university. These include, for example, the types of degree offered by the college, its research capability and external accreditation and internal governance.

Regarding the specific amendment proposed previously by Senators, I shared the objective of what they were seeking to achieve. On the advice of the Office of the Attorney General, however, the Government is required to put in place a legally sound and equitable mechanism for responding to and resolving this issue. There are already legislative frameworks in place for the recognition of certain higher education institutions as universities. A clear and objective legislative basis must underpin the extension of the categories of institutions which can be recognised as universities in descriptive terms. This is to ensure the maintenance of proper standards and the fair and equal treatment of institutions, and to safeguard against the risk of legal challenges placing a burden on the taxpayer.

The Universities Act 1997 and the Technological Universities Act 2018 provide the current legislative frameworks. Suitable amendments are needed to ensure that any new pathway for recognition as a university in descriptive terms is legally sound and that all the necessary principles and policies are set out in the legislation to guide the Minister in decision-making. In framing this amendment, we were conscious of the need to protect the integrity, reputation and robustness of the Irish university system in the context of both the Universities Act 1997 and the Technological Universities Act 2018. I piloted that Technological Universities Bill through this Chamber last year. As the RCSI is not primarily a publicly-funded higher education institution, I accept that it would not be appropriate for it, or any other education provider seeking to use the title of "university", to be subject to the detailed governance rules in place under those Acts. We must, however, ensure that such providers are financially viable and have sufficient resources to meet any projected costs arising from a university authorisation order. In consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, my Department has worked to provide for an alternative legislative approach to enable use of the title of "university" other than as currently provided for in the Universities Act 1997 and the Technological Universities Act 2018, while safeguarding the integrity of those established pathways to university status.

The Department has also had significant and constructive engagement with the RCSI on this matter. I am satisfied that the amendment before the House meets the relevant tests of regulatory framework recognition, protection and equitable treatment most adequately. It also ensures that only education providers such as the RCSI that have an established and demonstrative reputation for excellence and achievement in higher education provision, research and service to society may apply to the Minister of the day for authorisation to describe themselves as universities.Let me assure the House that very high thresholds must be met by an education provider before it is eligible to apply for use of the title of university under this amendment.

Under the proposed section 55 to be inserted in the Universities Act 1997, these conditions include at least a five-year record of providing courses and making awards to all to at least doctoral degree level in this State. In addition, the education provider must have conducted research in the State for at least five years before making an application. A provider is also required to have designated awarding powers to doctoral degree level under the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012, powers which the eight existing universities and the RCSI hold. There is also a strong emphasis on the conduct of research: including a required number of masters and doctoral level research students; the highest academic staff qualifications; and collaborative international joint research projects that only providers of the highest calibre and academic standards could attain. In addition, the education provider must demonstrate that it has integrated, coherent, and governance structures in place and that it is financially viable. It shall contribute, as far as possible, to the promotion of the economic, cultural and scientific development of the State and to also promote critical and free inquiry, informed intellectual discourse, and public debate.

The Minister for Education and Skills, in the new section 54 insertion into the 1997 Act, shall consult with the Higher Education Authority, HEA, in all applications for use of the title of university, and may also, if he or she decides, appoint an expert advisory panel of national and international higher education sectors to assist in the evaluation process. Under the proposed new section 56, the HEA is also empowered to review the activities of the education provider which attains university authorisation to ensure that it continues to satisfy the conditions of the authorisation and if it does not, the authorisation may be revoked by the Minister, subject to any appeal by the provider.

In addition, no university authorisation order shall be made without the prior approval by resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas. In effect, there is a triple lock mechanism in place to safeguard the integrity of the process. This is provided for in section 54(9) and is subject to a successful appeal of an initial ministerial refusal to grant authorisation, which also applies under section 59(9).

As it is, I should make it clear that education providers such as the RCSI, which are not primarily publicly funded are encompassed by this amendment, by way of descriptor provision, in the first instance. This means that it does not make the authorised education provider an established university, for the purpose of the 1997 and the 2018 legislation, with all the regulatory and governance requirements attached to that. As such, for the avoidance of any doubt, there will be no change to the staff terms and conditions of any education provider who is successful in securing a university authorisation order.