This is the end of the Dáil debate on the setting up on a statutory basis of the National Council for Education Awards and brings to an end the question of the comprehensive system for education at the third level. We are firmly establishing a binary system of third level education and the NCEA are being empowered on a statutory basis to co-ordinate and develop non-university third level. To the extent that the council are being established on a statutory basis, I welcome the present position in so far as it resolves their ad hoc position and it firmly establishes them as a statutory body. That is as it should be and the council will have my good wishes in their deliberations in the coming years.
I expressed doubts about the binary system and stated clearly that I am basically in favour of the unitary or comprehensive system for the third level sector, especially in the context of a country as small as Ireland. I questioned the position of the HEA in the third level non-university sector. The Bill has not adequately covered their role in this sector and in my view they are being left out in the cold. That is unfortunate and unnecessary. I am aware of reservations held by many people in the non-university sector about the university bias of the HEA. I do not consider that to be a major obstacle because, if necessary, the composition of the HEA could have been changed to allow for the non-university sector.
I am not satisfied that in the coming years the HEA will have the close contacts with the NCEA the Minister said. I am apprehensive about the amount of consultation in relation to evolving policy. I do not believe the provisions of section 16 in relation to the HEA financing the NCEA. I do not believe that is the same as the NCEA having an input into the policy-making function of the HEA. Therefore, I have serious reservations about the attitude the Minister is taking to the NCEA vis-à-vis their relationship with the HEA.
I criticised the composition of the council. I said it should have been wider, that the Union of Students in Ireland should have been specifically mentioned in section 5 and that they should be allowed de jure to be elected to the council. I regret the Minister has not tackled this aspect. I appreciate that it would be difficult to satisfy everybody when the composition of the council was being decided but we can only hope that the council as composed in the Bill will work equitably and that the Minister will ensure that all interests in the non-university sector will be represented on the council.
I said, too, that the question of apprenticeships was not adequately dealt with and that other subjects should have been specifically mentioned in section 3. The Minister put too narrow a section in the Bill.
The position of the director of the council, as specified in section 10, is not satisfactory. The Bill gives too much emphasis to the role of director as opposed to the role of the council. It should have been clearly specified that the director has a subsidiary role to play vis-à-vis the council and that the council are the supreme moving force under the Bill.
Lastly, in my opinion we should have a register.
I thank the Minister for accepting the amendment about the residency clause for members of the council. He did so in a generous spirit. That was a wise thing to do and I thank him for his generosity.
I do not want to delay the House. We have spoken at length on this Bill and have given it a comprehensive examination. We have agreed to differ on a number of points.
I wish the council well in their deliberations. I am sure the non-university sector, which can only be looked upon as the most important developing sector of third level education, has a great future and, under proper and wise council guidance from the council, will be a dynamic force in our education system.