Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious that the first job was to establish the TUs, and a great amount of work has been done by an incredible number of people to get to this point. We are now going through the process of assessing projects that are under way and may require, for example, an extension. The HEA and my own Department are considering what other funding avenues may be available. I am thinking in particular of things like the European Regional Development Fund, ERDF, where €83 million is available. There is also the national recovery and resilience fund, to which €40 million is allocated. We are doing this on a project-by-project basis. We are assessing projects that may require an extension. I am due to meet the chairs and presidents of the TUs on Thursday. There will be an opportunity to tease this through with them. I am trying to avoid a cliff edge. We want to invest in these new institutions. We have asked them to do things and start projects and no one intends to leave them hanging. However, at the same time, we need to move from a transformation fund to a more regular way of funding going forward. We will tease the issue through with the representatives of the technological universities but there absolutely must be some form of step-down funding, rather than a cliff edge, after the transition fund. We are working that through now. I hope that provides some reassurance to them.