Dr. Ruaidhrí Neavyn:

It has been a long-term ambition for the south east to have a university. The main reason is that having a higher education institute at university level is fundamental to the infrastructure to support sustainable economic development in the region. That is the clear message we want to give here. We hope that university designation and a higher education institute operating at university level will be key to sustainable economic development for the region. In that regard, the two institutes of technology in the south east - Waterford and Carlow - have agreed to combine forces to make this happen. We very much welcome the recommendations in the national strategy for higher education for a process to create a technological university. We jointly applied in that process, which has four stages. The first stage was an expression of interest. That also entailed developing a detailed MOU of operation in respect of how to achieve university designation, which requires us to produce a business plan to meet the criteria for technological university designation. These criteria revolve around research and development and academic achievement.

On top of that, we are also looking at the consolidation process, because there is a requirement that the two institutes become one as part of the technological university process. We hope to move the business criteria plan - the plan for the creation of a university and how it proposes to meet the criteria to function as a university - forward this year. Allied with that are a consolidation plan and the due diligence process associated with that.

Once we submit the business plan, we will then move to stage three. This involves an analysis of our capability of meeting the criteria for a university. The final stage is stage four, which involves an assessment by an international panel of how we meet the criteria. In terms of overall timeframes, we have set a very ambitious target and would like to see that achieved within a three-year time frame. We think it important that we set an ambitious timeframe and believe we are capable of meeting the criteria. The Deputy spelled out some of the notable achievements of Waterford Institute of Technology, and they are notable achievements of our partner as well. We certainly believe that, in tandem, we can achieve these criteria.