Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

The Minister must see that the delay in delivering the report has already caused huge difficulties for students and teachers alike. In my constituency, the Institute of Technology Tallaght, which caters for approximately 2,500 students and is the smallest institute of technology in the country, has no campus accommodation, no crèche facilities, very poor services and an under-resourced students' union. How soon will the report be completed and will it be acted on swiftly once it is on the Minister's desk? Will funding be available under the parameters the Minister outlined?

The issue of over-crowding at the IT in Tallaght appears to have been put on the long finger. The Department recommends 10 square metres per student, but the figure in Tallaght is currently 6 square metres. By 2007, there will be 3,000 students at the institute. While the Minister waits for the report nothing is happening. While there were recommendations on Tallaght's institute of technology prior to the commissioning of this report two years ago, we are still awaiting results.

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