Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State indicated areas of the Bill that could address these issues. There are provisions in the Bill where these things could be addressed. What I was trying to do by putting these provisions into the functions is ensure they would be addressed and cement them in that way.

On amendment No. 28, the Minister of State has indicated that there is potential for the inclusion of provisions around ethical issues and sustainability in what constitutes appropriate spending codes. I may engage further on that and will probably not need to press that amendment.

Regarding amendments Nos. 29 to 32, inclusive, the Minister of State described at length of the measures whereby individual institutions may engage with the údarás, formerly the HEA, and where it may consult with them. I wanted to underscore and make clear that individual institutions can also come forward with their ideas for higher education policy and research. Any Minister should listen to and engage individually and on a bilateral basis with institutions that bring insight in that regard, rather than having a hierarchical flow where institutions engage with the údarás and it engages with the Minister. I am concerned that there is potential for that to happen. As the Minister of State has said, it does not need to happen in that way based on what is in the Bill so I will refrain from pressing the amendment. Instead, I encourage every individual institution to put forward its direct policies. Institutions should not solely engage with an t-údarás but continue to engage with the Minister and with political representatives at large on the ideas they have. That is something I would expect from them and I hope the Minister would expect that as well.

I note that amendment No. 33 would have an inadvertent effect on the Irish language aspects of the Bill, which means I will probably not be able to press it. However, I am concerned. The Minister of State mentioned the finely crafted balance in the Bill. It refers to business and enterprise but not to arts or culture. That is a gap. I am sure it is inadvertent but it is a gap. Regrettably, I will not be able to press this amendment without removing the Irish language part. I urge the Government, over the summer, to consider strengthening some of the language around arts and culture in this Bill.

I have spoken about the matter of the environment already. I will be engaging with the research Bill. I may not need to press many of the amendments on research now, not because I think they are addressed in this Bill but in good faith and in the expectation that they will be addressed in the research Bill that is coming in the autumn. Engagement on that will be important. On the question of staff and students, the issues of equity and policies are addressed further downstream. I would have liked to include them in the objects but I understand that while they are not in the functions they are in later specific provisions of the Bill. I have highlighted the importance of the UNCRPD. We have not covered the matter of "expedient" versus "proportionate" at length but I think the word "proportionate" is important.