Seanad debates

Wednesday, 6 July 2022

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed)

 

10:00 am

Photo of Alice-Mary HigginsAlice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be very brief. Given the broadness of the definition, the reference in the Frascati Manual and the Minister's acknowledgement of the importance of the humanities, I wish to note that, at a later point, I will be introducing amendments because I am concerned that in the sets of partnerships envisaged in the legislation, Science Foundation Ireland is mentioned but the Irish Research Council and the Health Research Board, which have very important roles in the humanities, are not equivalently mentioned. I am sure that mentioning Science Foundation Ireland while leaving out the Irish Research Council is an inadvertent oversight. It is useful to make this point. I will be moving amendments in this regard on Report Stage.I would be worried if the Minister were to use "knowledge of humankind, culture and society" as a benchmark, given the empathy with humankind of some of the individuals I have met in my life. Culture changes over time. I threw that in for the hell of it. The Minister's view of humankind and my view of it may be two very different things.

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