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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 14 May 1997

Vol. 479 No. 3

Dublin Institute of Technology Act, 1992: Motion.

I move:

That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft:

Dublin Institute of Technology Act, 1992 (Assignment of Function)—Order, 1997,

a copy of which Order in draft was laid before Dáil Éireann on 30th April, 1997.

Section 5(2)(a) of the Dublin Institute of Technology Act, 1992, provides that the institute shall have such other functions, which may include the function of conferring degrees, postgraduate degrees and honorary awards, as may be assigned to it, from time to time, by order made by the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance. Section 5(2)(c) of the said Act provides that:

Whenever an order is proposed to be made under this subsection, a draft of the proposed order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

Consideration of this order by the Houses of the Oireachtas, following the successful completion of the review group process on degree awarding status, is another step in the history of the DlT.

I am happy to return to this House with this draft order so soon after the future of the Dublin Institute of Technology has been debated here. This House has had a very important role and most effective input into the formulation of policy on higher education. I look forward to a very informed and illuminating debate today.

I stress my role in initiating this process. I put the formal mechanism to evaluate the institute for degree awarding powers in place. I asked the Higher Education Authority to establish an international review team to recommend whether degree awarding powers should be given to the Dublin Institute of Technology. This was not a general review of the legislation governing the operation of the institute, rather it dealt in some detail with the important issue of degree awarding powers.

The review group recommended principally that the Dublin Institute of Technology be granted authority to award its degrees in respect of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, with effect from the academic year 1998-9. The Higher Education Authority endorsed this recommendation. The group also recommended that the system of quality assurance and quality improvement in the Dublin Institute of Technology should be subject to periodic review and that the Dublin Institute of Technology should ensure that its organisational structures and processes are firmly in place and operating effectively.

In line with the recommendations of the international review team, the order we are discussing here, when signed, will formally grant degree awarding powers from 1998 onwards. The draft order assigns to the institute the function of conferring degrees, postgraduate degrees and honorary awards with effect from 1 September 1998. The effective date of 1 September 1998 is to allow the institute time to put the necessary procedures in place.

The City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee entered a partnership agreement with the University of Dublin in 1975 whereby a number of college diplomas were recognised by the university for the award of its degrees. Since that time, more than 8,000 Dublin Institute of Technology graduates have become eligible for degree awards of the University of Dublin. The institute has developed academic links with other universities in recent years, including Dublin City University and University College, Dublin. Postgraduate degree programmes have also been initiated by the institute in collaboration with a number of universities within the European Union.

All this is evidence that the institute has more than 20 years active experience in a rigorous course evaluation process where new course programmes are proposed for degree recognition. An academic council has been functioning in the institute since 1970 before being established on a statutory basis under the Dublin Institute of Technology Act, 1992 and in recent years the institute has put considerable effort into the development of its quality assurance procedures. These developments are further evidence of the institute's endeavour and commitment in this area.

Conferral of degree awarding powers on the institute must also be seen in the context of the policy framework set out in the White Paper on Education, Charting our Education Future. The White Paper sets out the Government's approach for the overall development of the higher education sector and, in particular, for the development of the Dublin Institute of Technology. It notes that developments in higher education in Ireland, particularly over the past 20 years, have been based on a differentiated system of third level education. One part is formed by the universities and the designated institutions under the Higher Education Authority, with State funding allocated by the Authority. The other part includes the regional technical colleges and the Dublin Institute of Technology, with State funding allocated directly by the Department of Education.

The White Paper clearly states that "the diversity of institutions and the separate missions of the two broad sectors will be maintained to ensure maximum flexibility and responsiveness to the needs of students and to the wide variety of social and economic requirements". The White Paper further outlines in relation to course provision in the Dublin Institute of Technology that:

Particular considerations apply to the Dublin Institute of Technology, given its historical development, size and present academic profile. The work currently under way to create a single unified Institute, including the establishment of appropriate academic and administrative structures, will be continued and completed. Given the existing level of degree provision in the Institute, the guidelines in relation to the balance of provision will allow for more degree provision than in Regional Technical Colleges generally, while still maintaining a substantial level of provision at certificate and diploma level.

The institute has, since its statutory establishment in 1993, made great progress in building a single integrated institution. It has a vital role to play, not only in the Dublin region but throughout the country, in providing a comprehensive and high quality range of third level programmes. Conferral of degree awarding powers on the institute will greatly enhance its already high academic standing both nationally and internationally and will meet the growing need for the highest possible attainment in educational standards. I take this opportunity to again congratulate the DlT on the progress which it has made since 1992. It has a vital role in higher education in providing qualifications at certificate, diploma, degree and postgraduate levels. Building on its legislative base, put in place in 1993, it has made major strides with the active support of my Department.

I stress my commitment in my time as Minister to the development of the Dublin Institute of Technology. Staffing and student numbers have increased substantially in this time and many new courses at certificate, diploma, degree and postgraduate level have been developed. There is now recurrent funding of over £50 million in this academic year. In addition since 1993 over £18.5 million of capital funding has been invested.

I would like to mention two further elements of the recommendations of the review group. It recommended that the funding and oversight of the Dublin Institute of Technology be transferred from the Department of Education to the Higher Education Authority as soon as possible. There is a commitment to this in the White Paper. The appropriate legislative and administrative changes will be brought forward to bring the Dublin Institute of Technology and the technological sector as a whole under the aegis of a reconstituted Higher Education Authority.

The report of the review team also recommended that the relevant authorities should consider whether the key features of the universities legislation should be extended to the Dublin Institute of Technology and its legislation amended in the light of such analysis. This was in the context of a reference to the devolution of increased levels of responsibility under the universities legislation so that institutions could run their affairs within budgetary and staffing constraints, subject to appropriate statutory obligations in relation to the discharge of those responsibilities.

Arising from this, the Dublin Institute of Technology made a strong case for inclusion in the Universities Bill, 1996, over the past few months. The Universities Bill provides, for the first time, a statutory mechanism in section 9 for the recognition of a third level institution as a university. I listened carefully and with interest to its views and have announced that when the Universities Bill becomes law, I will request the Government to appoint a body pursuant to section 9 to advise the Government on whether, having regard to the objects and functions of a university, the Dublin Institute of Technology should be established as a university. The outcome of that process will be for consideration on another day. Today is a momentous day and I ask the House to approve this draft order and thus support the development of the Dublin Institute of Technology. I commend the resolution to the House.

I welcome the laying of this order before the House which gives the Dublin Institute of Technology the power to award its own degrees and diplomas. This is the culmination of a long process and marks the surrender of the Minister to a campaign which has been under way for some time. Deputy Keogh and I must reflect on events as they have unfolded over the past three months. During Committee Stage of the Universities Bill, the Minister held steadfast against any concessions to the Dublin Institute of Technology. However, the sustained campaign of its students, parents and staff resulted in this order being laid before the House. It is a good illustration of how the confluence of events, the imminence of a general election and an outstanding campaign by the students and staff has resulted in concession after concession over the past six weeks.

It is not sad, it is a day to celebrate because this is a victory for democracy. Today illustrates that the Parliament can still work. A combination of parliamentary pressure by Opposition parties on Committee Stage of the Universities Bill and the campaign organised by the students and staff of the college resulted in the Minister having urgent rethinks on the position and future of the Dublin Institute of Technology.

On Committee Stage of the Universities Bill the Minister made no concession on the utilisation and application of the legislation to the Dublin Institute of Technology and its future as a university.

Was section 9 included for no reason?

Section 9 relates to any new university. The Minister then went to Seanad Éireann where the numbers concentrated the mind because Independent Senators with the Fianna Fáil spokesperson, Senator Ormonde, tabled amendments on the Dublin Institute of Technology. To get the Bill through the Seanad where the numbers were tighter, she had to make another concession to the Dublin Institute of Technology, which I welcome. The concession provided for the appointment of a review body to consider the case the Dublin Institute of Technology made for university status. The chronology of events is there for all to see. Concession after concession was made when political pressure was applied.

The most important breakthrough came when the Minister faced a difficulty with numbers in the Seanad. It is a pity she did not do this in a more proactive way on Committee Stage in this House. The Minister has been responsible for the Department of Education for five years but Deputy Séamus Brennan put the Dublin Institute of Technology on this platform and introduced the Dublin Institute of Technology Act and the framework for this order which was to have been introduced within two to three years of the Act being passed. This is happening now because the college developed an effective campaign. We are facing an election and something urgent had to be done.

I am disappointed resources have not been put in place to support the Dublin Institute of Technology's case. There was no announcement of additional resources being provided from this year's Estimate. Notwithstanding the progress the Dublin Institute of Technology has made, there are considerable difficulties in providing resources for new buildings and facilities for the music faculty and physical education facilities for the students. Today's announcement reflects an incoherent approach to the third level sector. The Minister issued press release after press release when lobby groups emerged from each side without any coherent vision.

What about the White Paper?

The White Paper means nothing because the implementation chapter——

Debate adjourned.
Sitting suspended at 1.30 p.m. and resumed at 2.30 p.m.
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