Mr. Tim Conlon:

That was an excellent question. The Deputy has identified part of the issue that we are trying to address through technological universities; it is an issue of capacity and scale. Let us take capital investment as an example. It is difficult for a small institution to manage a broad capital portfolio, in that it is difficult to put the applications together and compete for funding. The same goes for research. Horizon Europe is a competitive programme. The institutions that comprise technological universities were formerly teaching and learning institutions. They came out of a post-secondary approach to creating opportunities in regions. We are trying to supersize them in terms of the contribution they can make to regions. This is highlighted in the national development plan where there are ambitious targets for the western seaboard. The new Atlantic technological university will play an important part in that.

We are looking at investing in building capacity in research supports.

If there is an excellent academic who is capable of running a research project but is not able to get through the red tape of Horizon Europe, he or she will need support within the institution. We are building capacity around grant writing, application processes and engagement with enterprise. We support people in those endeavours. We have excellent people in those institutions, are bringing them together in larger institutions and will support them in their endeavours.