Investigative powers for higher education institutions are no longer going ahead before Christmas.
The Irish Times reported that a spokesperson for the Department of Education explained that “important technical issues” had arisen in relation to the Technological University Bill, causing them to drop the plans for amendments that would introduce new powers for the Higher Education Authority (HEA).
The controversial powers were to be introduced after the University of Limerick (UL) was investigated for financial misconduct and governance issues. The independent investigation by the HEA was only agreed to after years of grappling with internal resistance. The sector has had to deal with several controversies of financial failures and mismanagement, while also calling on the government to increase third-level funding.
As reported by the Irish Times, the new legislation plans have been dropped and the powers will be dealt with separately in the future. The spokesperson for the department said that university autonomy and governance were apart of the reason that the plans were dropped.
Speaking to The University Times, in September, the Chief Executive of the HEA, Dr Graham Love, said that Irish universities should not fear increased investigatory powers. Love said they would be used in a “sophisticated” way.
The Minister for Education, Richard Bruton, announced the plans for the new powers in July. Bruton hoped that they would have been introduced as part of the amendments to the 2015 Technological Universities Bill.
The mooted powers initially raised concerns from university leaders about the threat they could pose to autonomy.
