PART 3

Amendment of Dublin Institute of Technology Acts

29 .— Section 2(1) of the DIT Act is amended by inserting, after the definition of “the Academic Council”, the following definition:

“ ‘An tÚdarás’ means An tÚdarás um Ard-Oideachas;”.

30 .— Section 3 of the DIT Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by substituting “institution of higher education” for “institute of education”, and

(b) by deleting subsection (3).

31 .— Section 5 of the DIT Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) to confer, grant or give degrees (including postgraduate degrees), diplomas, certificates and other educational awards (including honorary awards);”,

(ii) in paragraph (d), by substituting “An tÚdarás” for “the Minister”,

(iii) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (f):

“(f) in relation to any of the following companies or undertakings and in accordance with the following law, namely—

(i) a limited liability company in the State — in accordance with the Companies Acts, or

(ii) a company or undertaking (the liability of members of which is limited) in a state other than the State — in accordance with the law of that state,

to—

(I) promote and take part in the formation of it,

(II) acquire, hold or dispose of shares or other interests in its capital, or

(III) participate in the management or direction of it,

but only if the objects of the company or undertaking include the carrying on of such business, trading or other activities, as the Institute thinks fit, for the purpose of promoting or assisting in the performance of, or in connection with, the functions of the Institute;”,

and

(iv) in paragraph (j), by substituting “An tÚdarás” for “the Minister”,

(b) by deleting subsection (2), and

(c) in subsection (3), by substituting “Degrees and other awards under subsection (1)(b)” for “Awards under the provisions of subsection (1)(b) or under any function in relation to degrees which may be assigned to the Institute by order made under subsection (2)”.

32 .— The DIT Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 5:

“Academic freedom.

5A.— (1) The Institute, in performing its functions, shall have the right and responsibility to preserve and promote the traditional principles of academic freedom in the conduct of its internal and external affairs.

(2) A member of the academic staff of the Institute shall have the freedom, within the law, in his or her teaching, research and any other activities either in or outside the Institute, to question and test received wisdom, to put forward new ideas and to state controversial or unpopular opinions and shall not be disadvantaged, or subject to less favourable treatment by the Institute, for the exercise of that freedom.”.

33 .— The DIT Act is amended by substituting the following section for section 7:

“Functions of Governing Body.

7.— (1) The functions of the Governing Body shall be, in pursuance of the functions of the Institute under section 5 but within the constraints of the Institute’s budget under section 14—

(a) to control and administer the land and other property of the Institute,

(b) to appoint the President and such other staff as it thinks necessary for the purposes of the Institute, and

(c) to perform such other functions as are conferred on it by this or any other Act.

(2) For the purpose of the appointment of the President under subsection (1)(b), the Governing Body shall develop such interview and other procedures as in its opinion will best ensure participation in the selection process by candidates of a high calibre from both within and outside of the Institute and shall publish such procedures in such manner as it considers appropriate.

(3) The Governing Body has, subject to this or any other Act, such powers as are necessary for the purposes of performing its functions.

(4) The Governing Body may, from time to time, appoint such and as many committees, consisting either wholly or partly of members of the Governing Body, as it thinks necessary to assist it in the performance of its functions and may assign to those committees such of its functions as it thinks fit.

(5) A committee appointed under subsection (4) shall operate in such manner as the Governing Body may direct and its acts shall be subject to confirmation by the Governing Body, unless the Governing Body otherwise directs.

(6) In performing its functions the Governing Body, or, where appropriate, a committee, shall—

(a) comply with such policy directions as may be issued by the Minister from time to time, including directions relating to the levels and range of programmes offered by the Institute,

(b) have regard to the promotion and use of the Irish language as a language of general communication and promote the cultivation of the Irish language and its associated literary and cultural traditions,

(c) have regard to the attainment of gender balance and equality of opportunity among the students and staff of the Institute and shall, in particular, promote access to education in the Institute by economically or socially disadvantaged persons, by persons who have a disability and by persons from sections of society significantly under-represented in the student body,

(d) ensure as far as it can that the Institute contributes to the promotion of the economic, cultural and social development of the State and to respect for the diversity of values, beliefs and traditions in Irish society, and

(e) have regard to the statutory responsibilities of other education providers.”.

34 .— Section 8(1) of the DIT Act is amended by substituting “An tÚdarás” for “the Vocational Education Committee”.

35 .— Section 9 of the DIT Act is amended—

(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) The Governing Body shall from time to time appoint in a whole-time capacity a person to be the President and Chief Officer of the Institute.”,

(b) in subsection (2), by substituting “An tÚdarás” for “the Minister”, and

(c) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (4) (inserted by the Dublin Institute of Technology (Amendment) Act 1994 ):

“(4) Where the office of President becomes vacant, the Governing Body, after consultation with An tÚdarás, may appoint a person to perform the functions of the President until such time as a permanent appointment to that office is made and such interim appointment may be terminated by the Governing Body at any time.”.

36 .— Section 10 of the DIT Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by deleting “, with the approval of the Minister,”, and

(b) in subsection (2), by substituting “An tÚdarás” for “the Minister”.

37 .— Section 11(3)(a) of the DIT Act is amended by deleting “in accordance with the programmes and budget approved annually under section 14 of this Act and”.

38 .— The DIT Act is amended by substituting the following section for section 12:

“General provisions in relation to staff.

12.— (1) The Institute may perform such of its functions as the Governing Body may deem proper through or by any member of its staff.

(2) Subject to section 13, there shall be paid by the Institute to its staff, such remuneration, fees, allowances and expenses as may be approved from time to time by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(3) The payment of any remuneration, fees, allowances or expenses by a company or undertaking referred to in section 5(1)(f) (as amended by the Institutes of Technology Act 2006) to the staff of the Institute shall be in accordance with arrangements in that behalf entered into between the Institute and An tÚdarás.

(4) The Education Sector Superannuation Scheme (referred to in Article 2 of the Education Sector Superannuation Scheme (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2001 (S.I. No. 14 of 2001)) shall apply to the Institute and the members of its staff.”.

39 .— The DIT Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 12:

“Provisions in relation to certain staff.

12A.— (1) (a) The Institute may appoint such and so many persons to be members of the staff of the Institute (in addition to the President and the Directors) as, subject to the approval of An tÚdarás given with the concurrence of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, the Governing Body from time to time thinks proper.

(b) The recruitment and selection of such members of the staff shall be carried out in accordance with procedures that may be determined by the Minister from time to time.

(c) Such procedures shall provide that the selection board shall consist of appropriately qualified persons and shall include the President or a Director of the Institute or a nominee of the President.

(2) Subject to section 13, the members of the staff of the Institute shall be employed on such terms and conditions as the Institute (subject to the approval of the Minister given with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance) from time to time determines.

(3) The Institute may suspend or dismiss a member of its staff, but only in accordance with procedures and subject to any conditions determined by the Institute, following consultations by it with recognised staff associations or trade unions; these procedures or conditions may provide for the delegation of powers relating to suspension or dismissal to the President.

(4) Subsection (3) shall apply to all members of the staff of the Institute, except those officers to whom subsections (3) and (4) (inserted by the Institutes of Technology Act 2006) of section 13 apply.”.

40 .— Section 13 of the DIT Act is amended by adding the following subsections after subsection (2):

“(3) (a) Sections 105, 106 and 107 of the Vocational Education Act 1930 and sections 7 and 8 of the Vocational Education (Amendment) Act 1944 shall apply to officers of the Institute who were appointed before the commencement of this subsection, with the substitution of references to the Institute for references to the vocational education committee.

(b) Notwithstanding section 7(5) of the Vocational Education (Amendment) Act 1944 , whenever an officer of the Institute to whom paragraph (a) applies is suspended under this Act the Institute may, if the Governing Body thinks fit, make with the consent of the Minister payments ex gratia to the suspended officer in lieu of the remuneration which, but for that suspension, would have been payable to that officer.

(c) Any sum paid under paragraph (b)—

(i) shall be repayable by the officer to the Institute,

(ii) may be deducted from any moneys payable by the Institute to that officer, and

(iii) shall not be reckoned as salary or emolument for the purposes of the Education Sector Superannuation Scheme.

(4) (a) The Institute shall not remove any of its officers to whom this subsection applies from office without the consent of the Minister.

(b) This subsection applies to officers of the Institute appointed before the commencement of this subsection.”.

41 .— The DIT Act is amended by substituting the following section for section 14:

“Budgets.

14.— (1) The Governing Body shall, on or before the 1st day of March in each financial year or such other date as An tÚdarás may approve (which may be a date before the commencement of the financial year to which the statement relates), prepare and submit to An tÚdarás, in such form and manner as may from time to time be approved by An tÚdarás, a statement of the proposed expenditure and expected income of the Institute for the financial year.

(2) An tÚdarás shall, having regard to the statement submitted under subsection (1), determine the amount of money to be allocated to the Institute for the financial year from moneys provided to An tÚdarás pursuant to section 12 of the Higher Education Authority Act 1971 , and the amount so allocated, together with the other expected income of the Institute as agreed with An tÚdarás, shall be the budget of the Institute for the financial year.

(3) When the budget of the Institute has been determined, it shall be a function of the President, acting on the authority of the Governing Body, to carry it into effect.

(4) An tÚdarás may at any time, on application made to it by the Governing Body, increase the amount of money to be allocated to the Institute from moneys provided to An tÚdarás.

(5) Where the President is of opinion that—

(a) the actual expenditure in a financial year, or

(b) a proposed course of action,

taking into account any increased allocation under subsection (4), will or is likely to result in expenditure in excess of the budget for that financial year (in this section referred to as a ‘material departure from the budget’), the President shall so inform the Governing Body.

(6) Where the Governing Body, despite being so informed, decides—

(a) in the case of subsection (5)(a), not to decrease its actual expenditure, or

(b) in the case of subsection (5)(b), to continue with its proposed course of action,

the President, as soon as practicable, shall, unless he or she concludes that contrary to his or her foregoing opinion a material departure from the budget will not occur, inform An tÚdarás of the decision of the Governing Body.

(7) Where, notwithstanding this section, the Institute incurs expenditure in excess of its budget that is not met from the income of the Institute other than the money allocated to it by An tÚdarás, that excess shall be a first charge on the budget for the next succeeding financial year.

(8) The Institute may borrow money by means of bank overdraft or otherwise and may guarantee or underwrite a loan taken or borrowing undertaken by a person or a body of persons.

(9) Borrowing, guaranteeing and underwriting under subsection (8) shall be in accordance with arrangements entered into from time to time between the Institute and An tÚdarás; An tÚdarás shall consult with the Minister and the Minister for Finance before entering into such arrangements.”.

42 .— Section 15 of the DIT Act is amended—

(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) The Governing Body shall, as soon as may be, but not later than 3 months, after the end of each academic year, prepare and publish a report of its proceedings during that year in such form as may be determined by An tÚdarás and provide a copy of such report to An tÚdarás and the Minister.”,

(b) in subsection (2), by substituting “An tÚdarás” for “the Vocational Education Committee”, and

(c) by adding the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(3) The Institute shall supply to An tÚdarás such information as An tÚdarás may from time to time request relating to the number of persons employed by the Institute, their composition by grade, their terms and conditions of employment (including their remuneration, fees, allowances, expenses and superannuation) and any other related matters.”.

43 .— Section 16 of the DIT Act is repealed.

44 .— The DIT Act is amended by substituting the following section for section 17:

“Keeping of accounts and records.

17.— (1) The Institute shall keep, in such form as may be approved by An tÚdarás, all proper and usual accounts and records of all income received or expenditure incurred by it.

(2) Accounts kept in pursuance of subsection (1) shall, to the extent directed by the Comptroller and Auditor General, be submitted annually by the Institute to the Comptroller and Auditor General, for audit, by such date as the Comptroller and Auditor General may from time to time determine, and, immediately after the audit, a copy of the accounts, together with a copy of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the accounts, shall be presented by the Institute to An tÚdarás and to the Minister.

(3) The Minister shall cause copies of the accounts presented under this section to the Minister by the Institute, together with copies of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on those accounts, to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.”.

45 .— Section 19(1) of the DIT Act is amended by deleting “, after consultation with the Vocational Education Committee”.

46 .— The DIT Act is amended by substituting the following section for section 21:

“Inspection.

21.— The Minister, following consultation with An tÚdarás, may authorise any person or persons as the Minister may deem appropriate to report to the Minister on any matters regarding the operation of the Institute and such person or persons shall be entitled at all reasonable times to enter the Institute and shall be afforded every facility by the Institute, including access to all records, to perform their functions.”.

47 .— The DIT Act is amended by inserting the following sections after section 21:

“Reserved functions.

21A.— (1) The Institute shall perform by resolution of the Governing Body such of the functions as are declared by this Act to be reserved functions and ‘reserved function’ shall in this Act be construed and have effect accordingly.

(2) The functions under sections 5(1)(a) to (k), 7, 9, 10, 21C, 21D and 21E are declared to be reserved functions.

(3) Any dispute as to whether or not a particular function is a reserved function shall be determined by the Minister.

(4) The President shall assist the Governing Body in the performance of its reserved functions, in such manner as the Governing Body may require.

(5) The Governing Body shall not perform by resolution of its members, or give a direction in relation to the performance of, a function that is not a reserved function.

Executive functions.

21B.— (1) Every function that is not a reserved function shall be an executive function, and ‘executive function’ shall, in this Act, be construed and have effect accordingly.

(2) Executive functions shall be performed by the President.

(3) The President shall provide such information to the Governing Body regarding the performance of his or her functions as the Governing Body may from time to time require.

(4) The President shall provide such information to the Minister or An tÚdarás regarding the performance of his or her functions as the Minister or An tÚdarás, as the case may be, may from time to time require.

Strategic development plan.

21C.— (1) The Governing Body shall, as soon as practicable but not later than 12 months after the commencement of this section and at such other times as it thinks fit, require the President to prepare a plan (in this Act referred to as a ‘strategic development plan’) that shall set out the aims of the Governing Body for the operation and development of the Institute and its strategy for achieving those aims, and for carrying out the functions under this Act, during the period, being not less than three years, to which the plan relates.

(2) The Governing Body may either approve the strategic development plan without modification or, after consultation with the President, approve the plan with such modifications as it thinks fit; in exercising its powers under this subsection the Governing Body shall have regard to the resources available to the Institute.

(3) As soon as practicable after it approves the strategic development plan under subsection (2), the Governing Body shall provide a copy of the plan to An tÚdarás and to the Minister.

Equality policy.

21D.— (1) The Governing Body shall, as soon as practicable but not later than 12 months after the commencement of this section and at such other times as it thinks fit, require the President to prepare a statement of the policies of the Institute in respect of—

(a) access to education in the Institute by economically or socially disadvantaged persons, by persons who have a disability and by persons from sections of society significantly under-represented in the student body, and

(b) equality, including gender equality, in all activities of the Institute,

and the President, in preparing the statement, shall have regard to such policies on those matters as may from time to time be determined by the Minister.

(2) The Governing Body may either approve the statement prepared under subsection (1) without modification or, after consultation with the President, approve the statement with such modifications as it thinks fit; in exercising its powers under this subsection the Governing Body shall have regard to the resources available to the Institute.

(3) The Institute shall implement the policies set out in the statement as approved under subsection (2).

Dispute resolution.

21E.— (1) The Governing Body shall establish procedures for the resolution of disputes that arise in the Institute.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to industrial relations disputes, which shall be dealt with through normal industrial relations structures operating in the Institute.

(3) Procedures established under subsection (1) shall—

(a) be embodied in writing,

(b) be established following consultation with recognised staff associations and trade unions representing the staff of the Institute and with the students union or other student representative body, and

(c) provide for consideration of issues in dispute by an independent person or persons, as appropriate.

Reviews.

21F.— An tÚdarás may review—

(a) the strategic development plan prepared in accordance with section 21C, and

(b) the policies set out in the statement prepared under section 21D and their implementation by the Institute,

and may, following consultation with the Institute, publish a report, in such form and manner as it thinks fit, on the outcome of any such review.”.

48 .— The DIT Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 23:

“Effect of certain orders.

23A.— (1) Each order made under section 5(2) shall, during the relevant period, be deemed always to have been valid.

(2) In this section ‘relevant period’ means the period beginning on the making of the order concerned referred to in subsection (1) and ending on the commencement of section 31 of the Institutes of Technology Act 2006.”.

49 .— The Second Schedule to the DIT Act is amended—

(a) by deleting paragraphs 2(5) and 3(3), and

(b) in paragraph 14(e), by deleting “subject to the approval of the Minister and to such terms and conditions as the Minister may lay down,”.

50 .— The DIT Act is amended by substituting the following Schedule for the Third Schedule:

“Section 9.

THIRD SCHEDULE

The President

1. The President shall, subject to this Act, manage and direct the carrying on by the Institute of its academic, administrative, financial, personnel and other activities and for those purposes have such powers as are necessary or expedient.

2. In performing his or her functions the President shall be subject to such policies as may be determined from time to time by the Governing Body and shall be answerable to the Governing Body for the efficient and effective management of the Institute and for the due performance of his or her functions.

3. (1) The President may delegate any of his or her functions to another member of the staff of the Institute, unless they are delegated to the President subject to the condition that they shall not be delegated further; that other member shall be answerable to the President for the performance of those functions.

(2) Notwithstanding any such delegation, the President shall at all times remain answerable to the Governing Body in respect of the functions so delegated.

4. The President shall not hold any other office or position without the consent of the Governing Body.

5. The President shall be entitled to be a member of, and preside over, any and every committee appointed by the Governing Body, except where the Governing Body with the concurrence of An tÚdarás decides otherwise.

6. The President shall be entitled to be a member of the Academic Council and, if present, shall preside at all meetings of that Council; he or she shall be entitled to be a member of every committee established by that Council.

7. Unless he or she resigns, retires or is removed from office, the President shall hold office for a period of 10 years.

8. The President shall, whenever required to do so by the Committee of Dáil Éireann established under the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann to examine and report to Dáil Éireann on the appropriation accounts and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General, give evidence to that Committee on—

(a) the regularity and propriety of the transactions recorded or required to be recorded in any book or other record of account subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General that the Institute is required by this Act to prepare,

(b) the economy and efficiency of the Institute in the use of its resources,

(c) the systems, procedures and practices employed by the Institute for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of its operations, and

(d) any matter affecting the Institute referred to in a special report of the Comptroller and Auditor General under section 11(2) of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 , or in any other report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (in so far as it relates to a matter specified in subparagraph (a), (b) or (c)) that is laid before Dáil Éireann.

9. The President, if required under paragraph 8 to give evidence, shall not question or express an opinion on the merits of any policy of the Government or a Minister of the Government or on the merits of the objectives of such a policy.

10. >From time to time and whenever so requested, the President shall account for the performance of the Institute’s functions to a Committee of one or both Houses of the Oireachtas and shall have regard to any recommendations of such Committee relevant to these functions.”.

51 .— The Dublin Institute of Technology (Amendment) Act 1994 is amended—

(a) in section 2(1), by inserting “, following consultation with An tÚdarás,” after “Minister”, where “Minister” firstly occurs in that subsection, and

(b) in section 4(1), by substituting the following for paragraph (a):

“(a) six persons shall be nominated by the Vocational Education Committee, none of whom shall be members of the staff of a college within the meaning of the Institute of Technology Acts 1992 to 2006 or the Institute;”.