Be that as it may, did he know what it was to police-----

Does the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, have to be a farmer? I am just responding to it, with great affection and respect.

However, I do think it is an important point. The other point I want to make relates to the issue of the CEO of the HEA. I believe sometimes there is an issue with picking pieces of the legislation and reading them in isolation. I do not think that is a useful thing to do. The CEO of the HEA, as Senator Mullen pointed out, is always accountable to the board. There are certain things which the CEO will need the explicit approval of the board to do, but even in the areas where explicit approval is not needed, every C…

This is not the Final Stage of this legislation.

We have Report Stage to go.

I have come into this House and I have had slurs and names being called at me. I am not taking it anymore.

Senator Mullen is just heckling me. If he could just, for one moment-----

We are engaging in good faith. I made myself available as the Seanad ordered its business. On Senator Craughwell’s point on the TUI and the issue of full representation, and I accept his bona fides as well as his long, distinguished relationship with the TUI, we have made progress on representation on governing authority boards. That was warmly welcomed at the TUI congress in Wexford. It was something it had sought for a long time. We are making a different and distinct point about the HEA board, because if there i…

There is quite a bit to mull over in this series of amendments. I will start with Senator Mullen’s acknowledgment that the placing of the Bill is not the substantive issue. I see what he is trying to do here and he eloquently outlined it. To add to Senator’s Craughwell’s point, we had a discussion in the Dáil on the need for greater transparency around funding sources, etc. That is probably something we can all agree on; I certainly hope so. How we achieve this is the interesting part of the discussion in many ways…

I apologise. I will move on. That will save me saying it later.

I am sure the Senator will come back in but how we define social classes and how we envisage that working is the question I had. Amendment No. 156 proposes to include an additional provision that an t-údarás shall have regard to in assessing the demand for higher education at regional and national level. We believe this is covered by the provision in section 34(3)(d)(iv), which refers to issues of equality, diversity and the inclusion of students in priority groups and persons in those groups seeking to become stud…

I have only a very brief point. My colleagues have provided me with a copy of the Universities Act 1997, which might be useful in respect of the question of Senator McDowell, who will be very familiar with the Act, and the question of Senator Mullen. I presume Senator Mullen is going to consider the matter more between now and Report Stage, as will I. In Chapter I of Part III of the Act, which concerns the objects and functions of a university, subsection 12(d) states the objects of a university shall include "to f…

I doubt that.

Some of my most enjoyable moments in this House have been when I have been corrected on grammar, typos, punctuation and verbosity-----

I learn a great deal. It is a very valid question that Senator Norris asks regarding where these words came from. The challenge with defining anything is that you have to define it. Once you decide you are going to have a definition, you have to put words to it. The definition we have used on research is one that is generally used internationally. The definition included in this Bill, which the Senator is seeking to amend, comes from the OECD's Frascati Manual, which is generally the global reference point for coll…

Therefore, I am not in a position to accept the Senator's amendment.

I do not mean to be rude but I have to vote in the Dáil again.

The Senator must follow the news because-----

I will also endeavour to be co-operative. I will provide the House with a note on the issue of students' unions. I believe we all accept each other's bona fides on this matter. The intention is not to be exclusionary but to be inclusive and to provide for students to be consulted regardless of the scenario. I will provide a note on that in advance of Report Stage in the interests of being brief on the matter. I will work my way through the amendments because there is quite a good deal in this grouping. In fairness,…

I am delighted to be in Seanad Éireann for Second Stage of this important legislation, the Higher Education Authority Bill 2022. I am pleased to have this opportunity to address the House on Second Stage. It has been 50 years since the Higher Education Authority Act 1971 established the Higher Education Authority, HEA. That is the context. It is 50 years since we have legislated in this area. The Irish third level education system has been on an incredible journey during that period. In 1971, there were approximate…