Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate him on his appointment. We met on the radio yesterday, so it is nice to meet him in person across the Chamber. On behalf of the Labour Party, I welcome this Bill, which demonstrates a commitment from the Government to higher and further education. The new Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has great potential to address the huge challenges facing the sector. This Department will be justified if it can prove its worth by prioritising a sector that has been woefully left behind over a number of years.Key stakeholders in the sector have been calling for increased investment in higher and further education for many years. In my previous position as president of the USI, which I have mentioned on only very few occasions in the House, I was involved in the campaign for publicly funded education when we took to the streets and got active in the wake of the publication of the Cassells report. I reiterate my party's support for a publicly funded education and I am hopeful about the establishment of the new Department as the sign of a fresh focus on the needs of higher education and the further education sector.

I want to comment on a point raised by Senator Byrne on the technological university for the south east. I hope the new Ministers will drive it forward and will be involved in the process in the south east and for other technological universities. They will need their support and it will be important.

We have a great opportunity to have a conversation about what the post-second level education sector should look like. This sector includes universities, institutes of technology, technological universities, post-leaving certificate courses, apprenticeships, traineeships, lifelong learning and adult learning. We finally have an opportunity to have a national conversation about our collective vision for the post-second level educational landscape.

President Michael D. Higgins spoke about the role of education to develop thoughtful, conscientious and active citizens. The desire to create jobs and have economic drivers must not come at the expense of the fundamental purpose of education, which is to promote learning and expand knowledge. Educational opportunity is significant for our society and economy. I have welcomed the Minister's focus on further education and lifelong learning. Yesterday, I attended a briefing from the National Adult Literacy Agency and I heard compelling testimony on the impact of literacy not only on capabilities but also on an individual's resilience and ability to participate fully in society.

I want to take a moment to reflect on opportunities and the impact education can have on families. My mother was a mature student when I was growing up and had the experience of being in education and trying to write her essays at the end of the day on a bockety computer, and I apologise to her for that time I tripped over and deleted an entire essay. Her drive for learning inspired my own drive for learning. She pushed through and took on this new challenge. She travelled up and down to DCU so she could educate herself and expand her mind. Her drive for education had an impact on me and my family. We can never underestimate the opportunity that education can provide for anyone, whether through seeing someone in the family go on to education or instilling in them the confidence that they too can achieve something as simple as opening up their minds and availing of new learning opportunities.

I also want to reflect on the precarious employment in the higher education sector. I am sure many of us know people who tried to get into academia and who wanted to work in academia but the opportunities were just not there for them or else they have had to leave the country. I have a friend who is heading off to Iceland, fingers crossed, to take on a postdoctoral opportunity. It is very difficult to remain in the education and academic sector. I ask the Minister of State to give a commitment to tackle this issue in conjunction with the unions.

During the Covid-19 crisis we have had the benefit of researchers in a broad range of disciplines based in many of our higher education institutions. Naturally, medical and scientific research has been to the fore of media discourse but it is important to emphasise the holistic approach needed to address the crisis. The NPHET subgroup membership encompassed experts on behavioural change, medical ethics and law. In looking at research as a way to attract foreign investment we must not forget the primary purpose of research is not just to make a profit but to expand knowledge.

On a broader level I hope the new Department does not neglect the arts and humanities. The broader societal impact of the crisis needs to be assessed and understood in a wide range of disciplines, including cultural, sociological and historical. I also want to reflect for a moment on the value of our teachers and staff in our post-second level institutions, including educators, support staff, researchers and academics. I commend the work of the national forum for the enhancement of teaching and learning, which is a key driver to ensure students are key stakeholders and equals in their own learning opportunities. It also ensures and promotes excellence in teaching and learning.

In recent months, the arts have suffered greatly but through initiatives such as Other Voices: Courage 2020 and the Irish National Opera live stream they have provided free entertainment for people in their own homes. Investment in the arts is called for by the national campaign for the arts, which needs to be included in this fresh approach to further higher education and lifelong learning.

I note the inclusion of the word "innovation" in the title of the Department and I hope this does not indicate that business and enterprise will become solely synonymous with higher and further education. Perhaps I am a little biased and understandably nervous because I studied theatre in college. I was not driving to be a business person and I was not going to change the world but many of us who have studied the arts and humanities change the world in our own way.Perhaps we do not provide huge research grants or solve cancer but we provide entertainment and drive societal change, which is just as important as economic change, as we saw with issues such as the repeal referendum and marriage equality. Societal change is a huge indicator of the state of a society. I hope we do not just solely focus on the economic output of higher and further education but recognise the societal output and the value the arts and humanities can bring.

This is a broad sector with a wide range of stakeholders. Engagement with those stakeholders, including learners and providers, must be at the heart of the Department's work. Clarity and reassurance must be provided to these stakeholders, particularly at a time of crisis. I welcome the Covid-19 package announced yesterday by the Minister and I hope the same level of engagement will be shown to ongoing issues in third level funding. The Union of Students in Ireland and the Irish Second-Level Students Union have not been included or invited to the NPHET briefings to share their opinions and thoughts on how returning to education will work. I suggest that perhaps they should be.

Ultimately, the main issue facing both Ministers will be the funding of the sector. We have the highest fees in Europe. While great ambitions are outlined with the new Department we cannot do anything unless we have funding. The sector and Department cannot go forward until the funding crisis is solved. As I have said many times, the Cassells report was launched four years ago and we have simply run out of road as to how we will fund the higher education sector. It will be short to the value of €400 million to €500 million over the next two years and this money will not come out of good will. It is time for a comprehensive vision of what the sector will look like. I reiterate our support for publicly-funded higher education. It is time for action in this regard. As I have said, it will not be funded through good will and words spoken. I have already called for a debate with the Minister and I very much look forward to engaging with him on how we will tackle the funding crisis.

I have a great welcome for the new Department and we will support it. We will not support the amendment on the Ministers of State but I look forward to working with both Ministers. I am very excited to see how we will solve the funding crisis and I look forward to it.