Professor Vincent Cunnane:

The Senator may be aware of an example like Coonagh, an old shopping centre on the edge of Limerick we managed to purchase through NAMA which is now a centre of excellence for engineering, housing over 800 students. That was a complex project that was delivered on time, after we got it through planning. It was eventually delivered on time and on budget. We have a lot of examples across the sector of managing complex building projects. Over the years we have also build up a project management capacity within the sector. Various funds we have received from the Department through the HEA in relation to things like the technological sector advancement fund and a new technological enhancement fund have allowed us to put in place the necessary project management skills to build on what we already have, so we have no fears about our capacity to deal with building purpose-built student accommodation.