Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is welcome to the House. It was good to see him in Wexford last week addressing my former trade union. He got out alive, which has to say something for him.

I was delighted to hear my colleague from Limerick speak about the education that was available there. I am a second-chance learner myself, and it was Limerick Senior College that opened the door for me to a degree from the London School of Economics and to a postgraduate qualification from the University of Limerick. I have a lot of skin in the game. I spent 23 years as a teacher in further education, and for most of that time, my colleagues and I spent our time looking for a Minister that would have responsibility for further and higher education. Thankfully, we now have one.

Senators have spoken about how further education opens the door for people and gives them second chances. In my time in Dún Laoghaire, I never turned a student away. If a student turned up to start a course, that student got a place. I had 23 wonderful years in Dún Laoghaire, rising to the position of president of the Teachers Union of Ireland before I came to the Seanad. It is that I want to turn to now.

This establishment prides itself on vocational panels, and the vocational people who come to this House bring the expertise of their particular qualifications, except if they are a teacher or lecturer in a technological university. If someone comes to this House as a teacher or a lecturer in a technological university, that person is banned from having a jobshare. Every Member of this House can be a farmer, barrister, doctor or anything he or she wants and can jobshare. Senators can work outside of Seanad hours, as the Seanad is regarded as a part-time job. I am not sure whether the Minister is aware of that or not. However, teachers and lecturers cannot jobshare. When I came to this House, it cost me €10,000 a year to take my seat. It would cost a lecturer from a technological university €30,000 a year. Not only that, but lecturers would be hit with the single pension Act and lose out on a pension from their time here. It is discouraging people with the vocational expertise as teachers to come to this House. That statutory instrument was introduced in a panic in 2012, as the then Government tried to save money somewhere along the line. The bottom line on this is it is unconstitutional. I should have taken a case at the time but I did not. The Government is preventing people with the vocational expertise as teachers from seeking a seat in the Seanad.

We heard wonderful speeches today from people about apprenticeships, further education and training, and about the benefits they brought to society, but there are very few people in this establishment who work in or have come here from the profession. We need to look at that. We either put a ban on everybody having a second occupation or we put a ban on nobody having a second occupation. What was done was done wrong, and in a hurry. It did not think things out carefully, and further education in particular has suffered as a result. People like me cannot bring their life experience to the place. Younger people certainly could not take a hit in salary like I did. I was fortunate enough that I was a rather elder lemon when I came here and close to the departure lounge at that stage of my life, so it did not bother me, but younger people could not give up the salary. The Minister needs to look at this again. I do not have a problem with not allowing people to teach, but if the Government is not going to let them teach, then it must pay them the salary they would have had if they remained teaching. It would be the fair and decent thing to do. I ask that the Minister bring that back to his Cabinet colleagues and have a look at it.