I welcome the remarks of both Senators. Senator O'Toole put on record his approval of section 10. When I was here on Second Stage many of the Senators referred to that matter. Senator Murphy said he and the other Independent Senators had commenced when the university Bills were going through on the apparent lack in the general ethos of the colleges for Irish and Irish culture. That was during the general election period of 1989. If the Bills were not passed that day the two University Bills would not have been enacted into legislation and the subsequent graduates would not have been able to receive their awards from a university. The view of the Seanad even though Senators had extreme reservations about that aspect of the Bill, was that they did not wish to deprive the young people of their chance.
I recall clearly the comments made that day because they were very forceful. In fact, I commented that the debate in the Seanad was much more searching and comprehensive than the similar debate in the Dáil. When it was mooted that we would have these Bills the Leader of the House, Senator Fallon, came to see me one day and said that many of the Senators had talked to him about the need to have in the legislation a distinct reference to the Irish language and culture and asked if I would keep it in mind.
The two events coincided. We had the remarks on the record of the House, mainly of the Senators during the course of the debate on the two new universities. As far as I remember, Senator Murphy and Senator O'Toole had tabled amendments. As I said on the previous day, we were slightly guilty of plagiarism but the end result was fortunate. There has been much favourable comment and I am pleased with the reaction here. The level of debate was very comprehensive on Second Stage.
With regard to the Senator's concern about the Irish entry requirement, section 3 transfers the teacher training functions of the college to the university and states that they shall be performed by the university in accordance with such terms and conditions as the Minister, after consultation, directs. This section will allow the Minister of the day to ensure, for example, that the current level of Irish in the teacher training courses is maintained and developed. It will also allow the Minister to ensure that the current Irish entry requirement for the teacher training courses is maintained. That can now be done by order and regulation and that is what will be done.
The very fact that this section has excited so much response, both in the Dáil and in the Seanad, and such widespread attention — perhaps not so much in the public media but among those involved in the colleges and in education circles generally — will have its own reaction in the courses in the University of Limerick. I would like to think the injection of specific requirements of specific students with needs in Irish, etc. will in itself have a knock-on effect in other courses, on the culture and the ethos of the college.
