Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like others, I would like to compliment Senator Ruane, not just for bringing forward this motion but for her continuous work within this area. I know to praise the Minister as well because he has taken a specific leadership role on this. It is essential that our universities and higher education institutions, as Senator Dolan has said, are safe spaces, regardless of one's background, gender, sexual orientation or race. They should be safe places if one is a student, a member of staff, a researcher or a visitor to a campus. Of any place, our third level campuses should be guaranteed to be safe spaces.

I would pay tribute to Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, who came forward a year ago and bravely and honestly told the story of what had happened to her in University College Dublin, UCD. This is an extremely gifted researcher and academic, who went through something nobody should have had to go through. The honesty of her story shone through and I am glad to say that she forced changes in what was happening in the rules and procedures in UCD. As others have said, it is not good enough just to change rules and procedures; it has to be about changing cultures within an institution. If the culture and attitude of an institution are correct, then in many ways it does not need to refer to the rules and procedures. I compliment a lot of the student unions for taking leadership roles on this. It has to be pervasive across the entire institution.

Universities are not like top-down companies. An order cannot always be given from the top and a president of an institution cannot always know everything that is going on within every school and Department, as has been said. It is like being the mayor of a city or the conductor of an orchestra. One is trying to keep control of many different things that are going on at once so it is difficult to know what is going on in every area. If the president and leadership of an institution lead by example and if the culture is set within an institution, then we will look to stamp out a lot of these problems.

My colleague, Senator McGreehan, speaks honestly in many of the contributions she makes around this and she brings her own personal experience to this. She is right in saying that it is not just about a culture in our higher education institutions. This is about a culture more widely within society. There is a responsibility on the media as well. In the context of this debate, I was particularly disgusted by the Irish Mail on Sundayin its recent coverage of how a number of my party colleagues dress and of their appearance. One can criticise anybody in politics for what they say or for what their views are but they should not be criticised on the basis of how they choose to dress. My female colleagues are some of the finest dressers one can come across and I would say that for Senator McGreehan in particular. Part of the reason people are discouraged from getting involved in politics is that discriminatory language is used that puts people down.

Whether it is in an academic, political or media environment, there is a responsibility on all of us to be careful in what we say and do. The challenge within our higher education institutions is to ensure we create safe spaces so that anybody who walks onto a campus environment knows that the only test they will have will be on the basis of their academic ability and performance. That should be the only way they are judged over whatever length of time they spend in our universities or higher education institutions.

We should be proud in this country. We have excellent places of learning in higher education and research and they have good academic records but the purpose of a higher education institution or university is about more than simply academic achievement. It is about setting the standards for the country as a whole and informing our public debate and culture. We need to change the procedures. I agree with the points that have been made around NDAs. They should not be permitted in circumstances like this. At times, those at the top of the university may not know everything that is going on at ground level. What is more important is that we ensure the culture of the institutions changes. Our higher education institutions can then play a lead role in society in informing the public debate around how we make this a safer society for all of us to live in.

I speak strongly in support of the motion and I commend Senator Ruane on her excellent work in this area. We will probably pretty much have unanimity in this House on this but it is a bigger debate than what is happening within the Chamber today.