Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It does, but the Universities Act does not. Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin are not governed to that effect. The panel the Senator represents in this House is not governed by the Technological Universities Act. It stands over a situation where one must be an elected officer of a students union. Many students who are delighted to be members of students unions and delighted to vote for the officers of the students union would also like to have a role in representation. Many officers would also like that. We are providing a flexibility here in allowing for a full-time officer or a student of the institution. I do not think that is a bad thing. I will return to this House in good faith and engage with the Oireachtas, and perhaps an Oireachtas committee, to see how the broader issues around students unions can be dealt with in other legislation.