THE Universities Bill, one of the most amended pieces of legislation in the history of the State, has passed its final stage in the Oireachtas and is ready for the President's signature.
The Bill was introduced by the Minister for Education, Ms Breathnach, last July, and is the first major legislation passed during her term of office.
She proposed more than 100 amendments to the Bill in Dail committee stage and look another four or five from Opposition deputies. There were a further 18 Government amendments at the report stage, and another 37 in the Seanad, which were approved by the Dail yesterday.
The amended Bill, the first comprehensive universities legislation since 1908, makes major changes in three main areas.
First, it reconstitutes the colleges of the National University of Ireland. University College Dublin, University College Cork and University College Galway will become full universities with a more direct relationship with the Higher Education Authority and much looser ties to the NUI. The status of St Patrick's College, Maynooth, will change from that of a recognised college of the NUI to a full NUI linked university.
The remaining ties the new universities will have with the NUI will mainly be in the area of national entrance, course and examination standards. This independence will enable the reconstituted UCD, UCC and UCG to set up State funded theology departments for the first time.
The second area of change is the updating of the universities' governing structures. Each will elect its governing bodies from a range of panels, choosing how many it wants from each panel: thus it can elect two to six professors and associate professors; three to five other academic staff members, one to three nonacademic staff members; three to four students; and one to four people from the outside community with a matching one to four ministerial nominees. All, except Trinity College and Maynooth, will have provision for a number of local political representatives.
The third area of change, the redefinition of relationship between the State and the universities, with its implications for academic freedom and institutional autonomy, proved to be the most controversial.
After several amendments and many hours of debate, the universities are generally satisfied with their autonomy under the legislation.
The Conference of Heads of Irish Universities yesterday paid tribute to the "open and constructive approach" adopted by the Minister and Department officials in their consultations with the universities on the Bill.