David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This 142-page Bill has serious implications for Ireland because it will make Ireland a country that will not tolerate even one autonomous university. This is about autonomy. Trinity College Dublin, TCD, in particular, has a very distinguished historical background, as, of course, has Maynooth University, which was founded in the days before Catholic Emancipation. The Bill is a power grab of the permanent Government in Ireland - the powerful, senior bureaucracy. What started as a review of the first 50 years of the Higher Education Authority, HEA, has today become an attack on the university sector, which is 430 years old. It is a sector that has served Ireland well and should not be under attack in this Bill. I remind the House that the TCD features in the list of the most distinguished universities in the world. It is compiled every year or so. The Bill has not been widely debated in either the universities or wider society because of a democratic deficit. Debate in our universities has been prevented for two and a half years because of Covid-19 restrictions. In the fullness of debate for which the Irish universities are famed, this legislation, if needed at all, would have been improved by debate on every campus in the country. Again, this is about openness and accountability. Recently, the Taoiseach called for a controversial appointment at TCD to be paused. This Bill should also be paused, as in the words of the Taoiseach.Far too few people have been involved in its preparation. The Bill proposes layers of extra bureaucracy in the HEA and in the colleges on the assumption that Irish universities underperform and that the Bill offers a cure in this regard. Irish universities and colleges do not underperform. The Bill’s prescriptions are so badly grounded that they are likely to harm a sector that has served the island of Ireland and the world of learning so well. I speak as a representative of a college that has provided three Nobel prize winners in recent decades, namely, Samuel Beckett, Ernest Walton and William Campbell. We are very proud of them.

Let me add to the cheeriness of this debate. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, reported on 29 November 2021 that Irish participation in third-level education, at 63%, is higher than the EU average. This, again, is something of which we can be proud. We have always been known as the island of saints and scholars. In the dark days of the early 19th century, when there were hedge schools, people showed their devotion to learning. In fact, many people, including ragged children in the ditches, were able to understand and read Latin and Greek, which was a remarkable achievement.

In its 2019 education report, the OECD reported that young Irish people have the fourth highest standard of education in the world. Ireland is now a full-employment economy with, as IDA Ireland companies report, a strong pool of skilled and diverse talent. Year after year, the IDA reports that the skilled and talented Irish labour force is the main reason Ireland attracts so much foreign direct investment and so successfully serves the European Single Market. In recent days, the Tánaiste has announced a review of industrial policy. Perhaps he and the Minister, who are rumoured to be rivals within the Government should-----