FIANNA Fail is to table 138 amendments to the Minister for Education's Universities Bill when it goes to its Committee Stage next week.
The amendments include substantial revisions of the sections relating to the universities' independence, workers' terms and conditions and the power of the Minister to dissolve governing bodies.
The announcement of the amendments came as the Minister for Education, Ms Breathnach, addressed the Dail at the close of the second stage of the debate on the Bill, proposing her own amendments in some of these areas.
The Fianna Fail spokesman on education, Mr Micheal Martin, described the Bill as "fundamentally flawed" and said it should be "totally scrapped". In the absence of such a decision, Fianna Fail was proposing the amendments in order to amend the Bill "as effectively as possible".
Ms Breathnach indicated she would be introducing amendments to address concerns about infringements of university autonomy, staff conditions and the appointment of staff and student representatives to governing bodies.
The upper limit on membership of governing bodies, currently 31, will be increased, but Ms Breathnach said the Bill's underlying principles were unchanged.
Fianna Fail is proposing "substantial amendments" of sections of the Bill which prevent universities from borrowing without ministerial permission and require them to submit an annual report to the HEA and the Minister.
It is also proposing that the protection and promotion of universities' independence and the ethos and traditions of each university be enshrined in the Act.
Yesterday Ms Breathnach said a provision would be inserted in the Bill confirming a university had the right to regulate its management and academic affairs in accordance with its ethos and traditions, as well as its obligations of accountability.
Section 33, which restricts borrowing, is to be deleted and replaced by an amended section which would not excessively restrict the financial autonomy of a university.
A further amendment is proposed to ensure universities are not hampered in raising funds privately, and the amended Bill will explicitly state that guidelines on staffing and budget allocations by the HEA are not binding.
Fianna Fail has also opposed Section 18 of the Bill, which Mr Martin described as conferring "arbitrary powers on the Minister to suspend the governing body of a university, although under a new amendment the Government will not appoint the body to replace a suspended governing body. This role will now fall to the Government-appointed Visitor.