Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My thanks to Deputy Ó Cathasaigh for the questions. I want to acknowledge that most of the representatives in Waterford, both Government and Opposition representatives, are not playing politics with this. They are trying to deliver a university. Some are choosing to do different things. That is their democratic right and we wish them well. We are going to deliver a technological university for the south east. There will be more students in Waterford. There will be more funding in Waterford. The footprint of the campus in Waterford will be larger.

Where is the headquarters? The honest-to-God answer to that question is that the headquarters will be decided by the governing body of the new technological university. There was misinformation, disinformation and downright nonsense put out around Kilkenny over and over again. No matter how many times I called it that, some people continued to go with it. No decision has been made and there is no proposal in respect of Kilkenny.

The first job in even getting a university is to get an application in. We need the application in quickly. We need it in by the end of April so that we can meet our date of 1 January 2022. That is when we are going to do this, despite the naysayers.

Capital funding is essential. I believe this is even more essential, frankly, than the headquarters decision. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have said they want to dramatically expand the physical footprint of what is now Waterford Institute of Technology and what will soon be the TUSE in Waterford and I have said it as well. That means development and growing the site. Deputy Ó Cathasaigh will know some of the sites in question and so do I, but let us not name them here. Processes need to be gone through, but I am 100% committed to that, as are those in my Department at official level and the whole of Government right up to the highest level of the Taoiseach.

I have a long note on the governing body, but I probably will not have time to read it out. I will send it to the committee. As Deputy Ó Cathasaigh rightly says, I will appoint the first governing body, which is made up of the chairperson, two external members and one member nominated by the ETBs in whose area the technological university is situated. Frankly, I will need to set out the criteria to do that. With the Munster Technological University I have publicly advertised for the post of chairperson. I imagine running a similar expression of interest process. Ultimately, the first governing authority board is chosen by me as Minister, but I will set out the criteria and the public process in that regard.