Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 77: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the progress which has been made in implementing the recommendations of the OECD review of third level education here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12960/05]

Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Question 95: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the steps she intends to take arising from the decision of the Government to endorse the recent OECD report on third level education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13025/05]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 99: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the aspects of the OECD report into higher education which the Government will implement in the coming 12 months. [13117/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 77, 95 and 99 together.

Following consideration and approval by my Government colleagues of the broad thrust of the recommendations contained in the OECD review of higher education, I was delighted to announce yesterday the creation of a strategic innovation fund to facilitate the process of change in the sector and also the bringing forward of legislation to provide for the transfer of the institutes of technology to the Higher Education Authority. These initiatives are evidence of my and the Government's commitment to providing a comprehensive response to the OECD report and ensuring that our higher education system is capable of meeting the challenges ahead. They form part of a detailed response to the report I gave yesterday in which I set out some of the main policy parameters which should now guide the process of change and development that lies ahead.

The OECD report emphasises the need to modernise structures within higher education institutions so they may better deliver on their broad educational mission. This need is already being recognised in the programmes of structural reform which are under way in a number of institutions. The Government recognises the reform efforts required and under way. It has agreed that they should be promoted and supported through accelerated prime funding.

The strategic innovation fund will enable higher education institutions to incentivise and reward internal restructuring and rationalisation efforts, provide for improved performance management systems, meet staff training and support requirements associated with the reform of structures and the implementation of new processes and implement improved management information systems. The fund will also facilitate institutions in introducing teaching and learning reforms, supporting quality improvement initiatives and promoting access, transfer and progression.

A key priority will be the incentivisation of stronger inter-institutional collaboration in the development and delivery of programmes. Funding will be competitively awarded on the basis of an independent external evaluation of the quality of proposals with a requirement for excellence. The fund will be created on a multi-annual basis and I will now ask the HEA to initiate the process of drawing up detailed criteria and launching a competitive process for the approval of funding awards, with a view to the draw down of awards commencing in 2006.

The strategic innovation fund is one part of a process of moving towards a more targeted approach to the overall funding of higher education. The HEA is already working towards the phasing in of a revised funding model which will act as an incentive to institutions to achieve progress on a range of strategic priorities. The challenges to be faced in increasing and diversifying the sources of funding available to higher education, as recommended by the OECD, are also significant and I have stated my intention to work with the sector to ensure that the conditions for a greater diversification of funding are facilitated.

A number of the key recommendations made by the OECD will require legislative change. It is my intention to develop comprehensive new legislation for the sector to give effect to these. The establishment of a new single oversight body to succeed the current Higher Education Authority will be addressed. So too will the need for change in the composition of governing bodies at institutional level. There is a need to place the two research councils, the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology, on an appropriate statutory footing.

In the meantime, I intend to move ahead with the designation of the institutes of technology under the existing Higher Education Authority. This is a key step in developing a coherent management and strategic framework for the sector and in promoting inter-institutional collaboration. Interim amending legislation will now be introduced to give effect to the designation. The aim is for this to be achieved by the end of October of this year, with the designation to take effect from that time. The membership of the authority itself will also be re-configured at that time to ensure that it reflects an appropriate balance of interests.

An important role of the current HEA and its successor body will be to achieve a broad collective fit between the institutional strategies of individual higher education providers and national strategic objectives. An essential starting point has to be the identification of what those national economic, social and cultural objectives are. The OECD report has recommended the establishment of a national council for tertiary education, research and innovation, to be chaired by the Taoiseach. I am not convinced that the particular model recommended by the OECD is the optimal one.

However, there is a need to provide formal structures for an articulation of the broad cross sectoral perspectives that should inform a national strategy for higher education. Those structures need to reflect the central importance of that strategy to Irish society. A re-constituted Higher Education Authority, representing a wider range of interests, and the recently established Cabinet committee on science, technology and innovation form important parts of the picture. It is my intention to further explore the potential approaches, consult further with colleagues and return to Government with proposals on the most effective model overall for achieving the objective behind the OECD recommendation.

I intend all of this to proceed against a background of extensive consultation with key stakeholders in the sector. I initiated this process in January with a colloquium involving myself, senior officials of my Department, the Conference of Heads of Irish Universities, the Higher Education Authority, the Council of Directors of the Institutes of Technology and Dublin Institute of Technology. My Department is now engaged in a consultative process on key areas such as research and access with a view to obtaining the input of relevant stakeholders to the reform process. A research consultative forum is due to take place shortly and others will follow.

I reiterate my commitment to the process of reform and development which will enable our higher education system to move forward, within a framework of a unified national strategy, in contributing to the achievement of our broad economic, social and cultural objectives.