19. (1) (a) The president, as soon as practicable after the appointed day, shall prepare a statement (in this section called an “equality statement”) for the period specified in the statement.

(b) The period to which the equality statement relates shall be such period as the technological university considers appropriate and directs the president to specify in the statement, being a period of not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years from the date that the president prepares the equality statement under subsection (1).

(c) The president shall prepare each subsequent equality statement not earlier than 6 months, and not later than 3 months, before the expiration of the period specified in the plan.

(2) The equality statement shall specify—

(a) the policy of the technological university for enabling access to it, and the education it provides, 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) the policy of the technological university relating to equality, including gender equality, in all activities of the technological university.

F10[(2A) The president shall, for the purposes of preparing an equality statement, consult with—

(a) the Minister,

(b) such other Ministers of the Government as the president considers appropriate,

(c) An tÚdarás,

(d) the students or the student union of the technological university,

(e) the members of the staff of the technological university or the trades unions or staff associations of those members of staff,

(f) the academic council of the technological university,

(g) the education and training board or boards in whose education and training board area or areas the campuses of the technological university are located or such other education and training board as the governing body considers appropriate,

(h) a local authority in whose functional area the campuses of the technological university are located, and

(i) such other body or person as the president considers appropriate.]

(3) The president shall submit the draft equality statement to the technological university for approval once it has been prepared.

(4) The technological university, having regard to the resources available to it, may either approve the draft equality statement without modification or, after consultation with the president, approve the statement with such modifications as it thinks fit.

(5) The technological university, in approving the draft equality statement under subsection (4), shall have regard to such policies on the matters referred to in subsection (2) as may from time to time be determined by the Minister.

(6) A technological university shall implement the policies set out in the equality statement.