Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I respectfully disagree with the Minister. That is not a bad thing. Disagreement is the engine for arriving at the truth. The truth of the matter is that in respect of students unions, this Bill, as proposed, is not a step forward. It is a retrograde step. It is a step backwards. The Universities Act and the Technological Universities Act explicitly guarantee the representation of students unions on governing bodies. This Bill, as currently worded, does not. That is a step backwards. Senators Malcolm Byrne and Pauline O'Reilly in a collegial way agreed that the use of the word "or" instead of "and" contains within it the semantic potential for excluding students unions from consultation and from other areas. I ask the Minister to reconsider those amendments.

There are representatives of students unions here tonight, which shows their commitment to all of these processes. Members and leaders of students unions are the people who go on to become Deputies, Senators, taoisigh, tánaistí and the members of our highest professional bodies. If we in any way further exclude them and curb their participation in the life of the university with the stroke of a pen, we are sending a message to the members of that generation, who are already locked out to a certain extent, that they are further removed from the beating heart of the universities. They are the most important part of that community. I echo Senator Higgins's call for the Minister to accept the amendment. I accept his reassurance that he will revisit the question of students unions on a legislative basis, but for the purposes of the discussion, that does not meaningfully respond to the amendments set out.