The Higher Education Authority is the statutory funding authority for the universities, institutes of technology and a number of other designated institutions. It leads the strategic development of the Irish higher education and higher education research system and is the advisory body to the Minister for Education and Skills in relation to the higher education sector.
The Higher Education Authority Act, 1971 established the HEA, set out its functions and provided for its governance. It has been updated on a number of occasions.
UPDATE OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION AUTHORITY ACT 1971 - CONSULTATION PROCESS ON LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS
Context
The Government has approved the updating of the Higher Education Authority Act, 1971. This Act established the Higher Education Authority (HEA), set out the functions of the HEA and provided for the governance of the HEA.
The Act provides for the funding and overall financial monitoring of designated institutions of higher education by the HEA and established the HEA as the advisory body to the Minister for Education and Skills in relation to the higher education sector.
However, in some important respects the legislation is not aligned with the current role and responsibilities of the HEA. It is therefore necessary to prepare new legislation to reflect the current higher education and higher education research system in Ireland and Government policy for the sector.
Proposals
The following two documents are now being published:
Consultation to date
The Minister initiated a consultation process on the updating of the HEA Act in July 2018 and hosted a consultation forum in November 2018. The Consultation Report is a report on this process together with the response of the Department of Education and Skills to the issues raised and the proposed framework for the new legislation. The Legislative Proposals for the Reform of the Higher Education Authority Act, 1971 is an outline of the main provisions which it is proposed to include in the legislation.
Further Consultation Process
The Minister is inviting stakeholders to review these two publications and provide their views on the proposed updating of the Higher Education Authority Act 1971.
The Department intends to meet with stakeholders on the legislative proposals in the Autumn in advance of the publication of a General Scheme of a Bill.
Interested parties are requested to return their views to heconsultation@education.gov.ie by 30 September, 2019.
Please provide the following contact details:
- Name
- Organisation (if applicable)
- Address
- Email Address
Submissions should be no longer than 2,000 words.
The submissions will be published on the DES website in due course. Please note that any personal details you provide will remain confidential and will only be used for the purpose of this project, in accordance with data protection legislation. However, all information and opinions you provide will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act (2014) and may be released.