Professor Brian Norton:

I thank the committee for the invitation to attend today’s session. I am accompanied by three colleagues - Mr. Denis Murphy, director of corporate services; Dr. Noel O’Connor, director of student development with internal responsibility for the DIT campus development; and Mr. Colm Whelan, head of finance. I would also like to acknowledge our colleagues from the Grangegorman Development Agency, Mr. Gerard Casey, chief executive, and Mr. Peter O’Sullivan, finance director.

DIT has provided technological education in Dublin since 1887, continually evolving to meet the educational needs of successive generations. Today, DIT is one of the largest higher education institutions in Ireland with over 20,000 students and 2,000 staff. Our role centres on learning, teaching, research, technology transfer, promoting innovation and engagement with industry partners, community partners, professional bodies, and Government agencies. Our activities address a range of ages and levels, from leading a training programme for the child care sector in inner city Dublin, continuing development of apprenticeship, undergraduate degree programmes, to PhD research. A distinctive aspect is the range of access pathways which enable and facilitate progress to the highest level of individual achievement. Approximately 5,000 students graduate each year from purpose-driven programmes that are practice-based and research-informed. They are our best ambassadors. Over 100,000 DIT graduates contribute to society and every sector of the economy, from those just entering their careers to those in leadership positions in Ireland and across the world.

Members of the committee will have received our submission on the DIT consolidated financial statements for the year ending 31 August 2014 which refers particularly to liquidation of a supplier of library services to DIT, procurement non-compliance, progress on a technological university for Dublin and the Grangegorman campus development. I confirm that we take our responsibilities in all financial matters very seriously. We continue to address procurement non-compliance as highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General. DIT has continued to balance its budget over what has been a challenging period and I commend my colleagues and our students whose significant co-operation has enabled us to achieve this. It is of particular regret that this was made more difficult when DIT incurred a major additional cost due to the liquidation of a long-time supplier.

To deliver the best opportunities for our students, DIT is developing a new campus in Dublin’s north inner city at Grangegorman and creating a technological university for Dublin with our partners in the institutes of technology in Blanchardstown and Tallaght. The Grangegorman campus will bring together all of DIT on one site from our six current locations and 30 individual buildings. Today, there are 1,200 students and 200 staff in Grangegorman. By September 2019, this number will increase to 10,000 students and 600 staff. The campus is also a major contributor to regeneration that will bring this quarter of the city in line with other parts of Dublin. The new technological university will have three physical campuses – at Grangegorman, Blanchardstown and Tallaght – underpinned by a digital campus that will provide our students with online learning resources. Building on our shared strengths, the new institution will have 28,000 students across our full range of disciplines.

These twin priorities, in line with Government decisions for higher education, are the focus for the DIT strategic plan to be delivered for our students and for the greater Dublin region. We acknowledge the support of the Department of Education and Skills, the Higher Education Authority and successive Governments who have worked with us. We have also had tremendous support from our industry and community partners and university partners in Ireland and abroad. Here in Dublin, the support of Dublin City Council and Dublin Chamber of Commerce has been invaluable. The challenging economic environment over recent years has impacted very significantly on higher education as a whole. However, my colleagues, our students, our graduates and our partners are ambitious for us to succeed in what we have set out to achieve and we hope to see significant progress in the coming months.

I thank the committee for the opportunity to make this opening statement and I hope we can answer all the questions satisfactorily.