Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the National University of Ireland panel Senators on tabling this important motion. I also welcome our friends in the Gallery.

I will start with a quote from Dr. Ingrid Holme, adjunct research fellow in sociology at UCD, because it struck me as being powerful. She stated:

I've never settled down. You can end up not having a family. I don't have pets – I foster – as you just don't know if you're going to be around or not.... I'm 45 and there's no way I'm going to get a mortgage on a house. That's not going to happen.

How did it come to this? I want a serious answer to that question. Let us be frank – you do not end up with 11,200 lecturers on short-term contracts by accident. It is not some kind of natural phenomenon that occurs from time to time. We have so many lecturers on temporary contracts because political decisions were made by this and previous Governments. It has been happening for decades, but it has grown considerably worse in the past 15 years. I knew it was bad, but I did not realise the number was 11,200. That is disgraceful. Surely we can all agree on that.

The Irish Federation of University Teachers has called on the Government to abolish the employment control framework immediately and to start a recruitment drive. It would be great if the Minister of State said that the Government was going to do so. It has been in government for three years and should surely recognise the depth of the problem. God knows, this issue should have been tackled years ago. We need to see action on it this evening.As others have pointed out, apart from the fact that we are losing so many talented people because of the appalling conditions on offer, it is also impacting on the quality of our education and the independence of our academics. It is a fundamentally flawed situation.

The Minister of State needs to address the issue of PhD researchers. They have done a fantastic job. I congratulate the Postgraduate Workers Organisation and Irish Federation of University Teachers, IFUT, in that regard. Sinn Féin's position is very clear. PhD researchers should be classed as workers, not students. They should be entitled to worker benefits, such as sick leave and maternity leave, and PRSI contributions which ultimately affect their future pension entitlements. To date, the Government has opposed this change. Will the Minister of State either justify that outrageous position or tell us he is going to change it? This has gone on for far too long.

This does not only affect university lecturers. I will briefly make reference to the plight of adult education tutors. Roughly 3,500 tutors at education and training boards across the State are seeking an incremental pay scale, recognition of service and pay parity. They have been campaigning for years and again I salute SIPTU and the Teachers Union of Ireland, TUI. Three years after a Labour Court recommendation that called on the Government to offer these workers proper contracts, they are still waiting. Again, these are Government decision, not accidents of nature. This Government is not engaging and supporting these crucial workers. That is what needs to change.

It is good to have this debate this evening and I look forward to the Minister of State's response. However, it is only going to be worthwhile if the Government actually acknowledges that it has messed up for several years and addresses the situation. It needs to give these people the respect, contracts and future they deserve.