Amendment No. 225 is an alternative to amendment No. 224 and amendments Nos. 226 and 227 are related. Amendments Nos. 224 to 227, inclusive, to be discussed together by agreement.
SECTION 28.
I move amendment No. 224:
In page 23, lines 31 to 36, to delete subsection (1) and substitute the following:
"(1) A reference to the Irish Universities Act, 1908, in Clauses I, III and VIII of the charters of the constituent colleges and in Clause I of the charter of the National University of Ireland shall be construed as a reference to that Act and the Universities Act, 1996.".
The purpose of this amendment is to provide for a situation where the charter of Trinity College can be amended by a private act. In making the amendment that is necessary for that purpose, I am availing of the opportunity to redraft the provision in a way which addresses some unfounded concerns raised by it in its present form.
There were concerns that the Bill undermines the long standing charters of the universities. It was never intended that this be the case. To provide reassurance on the issue, I propose this amendment to section 28(1) which deals with the relationship between the charters and the Bill when enacted in the same way as the 1908 Universities Act deals with the relationship between its provisions and the charters. The 1908 Act provides that the charters are subject to the provisions of the Act. This ensures continuity of approach in the way legislation interacts with these charters. This obviates the need for amendment No. 225.
The section further provides that the Government may amend by order, following the application of a university, the charter of a university in a manner agreed with the university. Deputies Coughlan and Martin have tabled amendment No. 226 which provides that a majority of the governing authority would have to support this. This would be necessary in any case so it is unnecessary to provide for it.
I cannot support the Deputies' proposal that the academic council would have an effective veto on a change to a charter because it is the governing authority which has been granted the status of supreme decision making body in a university and it is reasonable that it alone would carry that responsibility and have the final say in a matter of such importance as an amendment to a charter. The academic council is given a substantial involvement in the academic affairs of the university under section 23 and that is now very much reflected in the composition of academic councils.
Subsection (4) already provides for ratification of the consolidation charter by the Houses of the Oireachtas which covers the issues raised in amendment No. 227.
We are dealing with the preservation, changing and amendment of charters. In amendment No. 225, we propose to delete lines 35 and 36 which state, "to the extent, and only to the extent, that they are not in conflict with this Act". I suppose that amendment was tabled in the days when Trinity was under siege by the Minister.
I thought it was Queen Elizabeth I.
The Minister should see some of the letters I received. They said the take-over was on a par with that of James II. I suspect a bit of glasnost has broken out and that there may not be a need to move that amendment now.
Amendment No. 226 specifies what is meant by agreement, which is "with the agreement of a majority of the governing authority (or, in the case of the University of Dublin, the Fellows)". This is critical in the case of Trinity because the Fellows traditionally have had a central role in terms of its charter and that is allied to their concept of independence which they have enjoyed since the university's inception.
Amendment No. 227 is unnecessary. I note the Minister's comments on amendment No. 226, that the governing authority is the supreme authority, but there is a fear that there has been a move to lessen the influence and standing of the academic council in the affairs of universities. That is why we proposed that a majority of the academic council would have a say in the charter. Some academics stated that they saw the Bill in its original form as a lessening of their influence and the central role they have enjoyed in the more traditional universities. That is why we tabled our amendment.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment No. 225 not moved.
I move amendment No. 226:
In page 23, subsection (2), lines 38 and 39, to delete "in a manner agreed to by the university" and substitute "but only with the agreement of a majority of the governing authority (or, in the case of the University of Dublin, the Fellows), together with a majority of the academic council".
Amendment put and declared lost.
Amendment No. 227 not moved.
Section 28, as amended, agreed to.
SECTION 29.
Amendments Nos. 228, 229, 230 and 231 are related and may be discussed together by agreement.
I move amendment No. 228:
In page 24, lines 1 to 4, to delete subsection (1) and substitute the following:
"(1) Subject to this Act and to the charter, if any, of the university, a governing authority of a university or the Senate may, and where required by this Act to do so shall, make such and so many statutes and regulations as it considers appropriate to regulate the affairs of the university.".
The regulation of the internal affairs of a university is primarily a requirement of its institutional autonomy. The section provides that a university may make statutes and regulations governing its internal affairs. In exercising its autonomy, however, it is appropriate that it do so in an open way and that those to whom its statutes and regulations are addressed should know what is going on in terms of the statutes and regulations. A governing authority will, therefore, be required to publish the statutes and, following amendment No. 229, to publish the regulations concerning the appointments of employees and selection procedures.
Deputies Martin and Coughlan have tabled amendment No. 230 which requires that a statute be published in full. This is already provided for. The provision of the Bill will affect a range of activities in the universities which may have been regulated by internal statute until now.
Subsection (3) of amendment No. 231 is intended to avoid a possible conflict between statutes and the law as enacted by the Oireachtas. Concern has been expressed that the language of the provision in preparing to repeal statutes creates an impression that the body of regulations governing the internal regulation of universities is being abolished. That is not the case, but I do not want anyone to maintain that perception.
Amendments Nos. 228 and 231 accurately reflect the intention of the provision which is more a saver for existing statutes than a repeal but still avoids a conflict between the statutes and the Bill. By repealing section 5 of the 1908 Act I am removing a requirement that the statutes of the NUI colleges may be annulled by the Oireachtas and, in this way, enhancing the statute making provisions and autonomy of the constituent universities.
Will the entire statute be published?
Yes.
It could be argued that the wording is not as clear as it could be, but we will not quibble over it. I have no difficulty with the Minister's necessary amendment.
I am glad these amendments are dealing with what has been one of the sore points of the Bill and that the Minister has seen fit to make them.
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 229:
In page 24, subsection (2), line 6, after "statute" to insert "or a regulation under section 16(2) or 22(1)".
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment No. 230 not moved.
I move amendment No. 231:
In page 24, lines 9 to 21, to delete subsections (3) and (4) and substitute the following:
"(3) The statutes in force immediately before the commencement of this Part in a university to which this Act applies or its corresponding constituent college or Recognised College shall, so far as they are consistent with this Act, continue in force as statutes of the university or the corresponding constituent university on and after that commencement but may be repealed or amended by a statute made under subsection (1).
(4) Section 5 of the Irish Universities Act, 1908, is hereby repealed.".
Amendment agreed to.
Section 29, as amended, agreed to.