Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I call for a debate with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, on the appropriateness of withholding funding from Irish higher education institutes, HEIs, which have not been rubber-stamped by a British NGO. The NGO in question is Advance HE, which supervises Athena SWAN. It was founded in 2018 as a merger of the UK's Equality Challenge Unit, Higher Education Academy and Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. Not only is it an English NGO, it is one whose origins are directly linked to and funded by the British State. The Athena SWAN charter sets out the standards of gender equality an entity must attain to be awarded a bronze, silver or gold award from Advance HE, which the entity, such as a HEI, can then wave around before going home and sticking it on the fridge.

That was the position until 7 April 2022, when the Minister, Deputy Harris, deemed it necessary to eliminate or severely restrict funding to HEIs that do not possess an Athena SWAN award.He stated in written reply to a parliamentary question that "Only higher education institutions that have at least an Athena SWAN bronze institutional award can apply for funding from Ireland’s main research funders."

This hitherto functionally useless award handed out by a leftist British NGO is now an essential prerequisite for every Irish university, college and institute that wishes to apply for funding from the country’s main research funders. This might not be so bad if the provisions of the charter were truly about gender equality, providing that women and men are of equal value and that we should ensure this is reflected in society. No. Rather, the charter busies itself with the West’s ubiquitous question du jour, radical gender ideology, and states universities must commit to recognising that individuals can determine their gender identify and to tackling issues faced by trans and non-binary people. Why on earth ought this be a criterion for an Irish educational institution to be given State funding? As Dr. Matt Treacy writes:

Believing that a biological man or woman, possibly suffering from the psychiatric condition known as gender dysphoria, can simply decide that they are of a different gender is a subjective and ideologically based opinion. It is not a scientific fact, and nor ought public affirmation of it be a criteria for anything, least of all the granting of Irish taxpayers money to universities.

Research funding is the lifeblood of universities so the message from the Minister is simple: take the ideological soup or die in the cold. This would be an outrageous suggestion from anyone. The fact it has been made policy by the Minister responsible for funding the HEIs is beyond parody. The Minister needs to come into the HSE and answer that question.