Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate Senator Mullen’s concerns about academic freedom. It is crucial and a cornerstone of our democracy. The Senator is an advocate for the freedoms we need to protect and guarantee in many countries around the world. Ireland is, I hope, a great advocate for that through its participation in international organisations.

We acknowledge that academic freedom, which is addressed in section 120, is a crucial part of the Bill. It is important that the academic freedom of all our institutions has been enshrined here in the Bill before us. It is important, as Senator Mullen mentioned, and I feel it is present in the Bill as well, that academic freedom is for all the higher education institutions, and that encompasses both students and staff. The Minister may wish to comment on that. That is a cornerstone of what we want to achieve in Bill. We want to ensure academic freedom will be part of everything our third level higher education institutions are funded for through the HEA.