11 Noll 2012, 15:35
The Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection will tomorrow continue its consideration of the Reform of the Third Level Education Sector with representatives of Ireland's university and IT sectors.
11 December 2012
The Committee will meet with the Irish Universities' Association, the Institutes of Technology and Prof Paul Ryan of NUIG. Representatives of the Migrant Rights Centre will also address the Committee on the position that any reform of the Third Level Education sector should grant equal access to migrants.
Last fortnight, the Committee met with representatives from the Higher Education Authority and Department of Education and Skills, who discussed progress on the higher education reform programme. The strategy outlined centred on having smaller numbers of high-quality, well governed institutions that are funded on a sustainable footing and each with a distinct mission to meet a growing diversity of demand and new challenges.
Committee Chair Joanna Tuffy TD says: “Tomorrow’s meeting provides our Committee with an opportunity to consider the future of Ireland’s third level institutions from a variety of perspectives. At our last meeting on this topic, Committee Members suggested that our universities and ITs can work more efficiently through a longer academic year, maximising use of their campuses, increasing online learning and curbing salaries and allowances, which currently account for 80 percent of spending.
“We look forward to exploring with representatives tomorrow how Ireland’s universities and ITs might take a more co-ordinated approach to ensure the national educational requirements of the coming years are met. We will also have an opportunity to assess with representatives of the Migrant Rights Centre how to ensure immigrants to Ireland have equal access to third level education.”
The meeting takes place tomorrow Wednesday 12 December at 1 p.m. in Committee Room 3, Leinster House 2000.
Committee proceedings can be viewed online via this link.
Ends
For further information please contact:
Paul Hand,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
F: +3531 618 4551
paul.hand@oireachtas.ie
Committee Membership
Deputies:
James Bannon, Fine Gael
Ray Butler, Fine Gael
Joan Collins, People Before Profit
Clare Daly, Independent
Brendan Griffin, Fine Gael
Simon Harris, Fine Gael
Charlie McConalogue, Fianna Fáil
Nicky McFadden, Fine Gael
Jonathan O'Brien, Sinn Féin
Mary Mitchell O’Connor, Fine Gael
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Labour Party (Vice Chair)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Sinn Féin
Willie O’Dea, Fianna Fáil
Brendan Ryan, Labour Party
Joanna Tuffy, Labour Party (Chair)
Senators:
Jim D’Arcy
Fidelma Healy Eames
Marie Moloney
Averil Power
Diarmuid Wilson