Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

In February 2006 the governing body of Waterford Institute of Technology wrote to the Department of Education and Science requesting a review of its status under section 9 of the Universities Act 1997. The provisions of section 9 state that the Government may appoint a body, which will include international experts, to advise the Higher Education Authority on whether, having regard to the objects and functions of a university, an educational institution should be established as a university. On the advice of the body and the recommendation of the authority, the Government may, by order, provide that the institution shall be a university for the purposes of this Act.

The submission from Waterford Institute of Technology seeking university status remains under consideration by the Department. Aside from the very detailed statutory review process that is required in progressing an application, there are also significant wider issues that need to be considered in advance of any statutory review. For example, there have been important wider policy developments in the overall higher education sector that are relevant in this context. In particular, it is important that account is taken of the very significant recent changes in the overall legislative framework governing higher education, with the passage of the new Institutes of Technology Act 2006 at the end of the last Dáil term, as well as wider Government policy on foot of the review of Irish higher education carried out by the OECD in 2004, the broad thrust of which was endorsed by the Government.

A central purpose of the OECD review was to support Ireland's strategic ambition of placing our higher education system at the front rank of the OECD in the context of the wider national objective of developing as a world-leading knowledge economy and society. A key recommendation made in the OECD report to the Government was that Ireland should retain the differentiation in mission of the university and institute of technology sectors, which it identified as a key strength of our system, and that there should be no institutional transfers into the university system for the foreseeable future. The report also recommended that the universities and institutes of technology should be brought together under the remit of a single authority for the purpose of achieving a unified higher education strategy. It further recommended that the extent of external regulation of the institutes of technology should be lightened, giving them greater managerial freedom in responding to the opportunities and challenges of supporting regional and national social and economic development.

The new Act addresses significant elements of these recommendations and marks a major milestone for the sector and for the development of higher education. The Act provides for greater autonomy for the institutes to fulfil their missions. By bringing them within the remit of the Higher Education Authority, it will support an integrated and cohesive strategic approach to the development of higher education in line with national priorities. The Act means that, in practice, the HEA and the institutes of technology will engage and relate in a way that is very similar to the way the HEA and the universities engage.

There are a number of areas where the current operation of the institutes will alter as a consequence of the role of the HEA, such as on budgets and finances, where the HEA will determine an institute's budget in line with the funding relationship that exists between the HEA and the universities. The HEA will assume a role in establishing formal arrangements to permit institutes to borrow or to underwrite borrowings, again in a manner similar to that prevailing in the university sector, allowing a greater level of institutional flexibility and responsiveness. The Department's role in regard to the approval of research, consultancy or development work or the acquisition of land will devolve to the HEA. Similarly, specific approval from the Department to run individual courses or programmes will no longer be required.

The new arrangements will provide for a more autonomous and strategic relationship with Government, through the HEA, reflecting the dynamic and competitive nature of the environment in which the institutes are now operating. The Minister for Education and Science is cognisant of the strong support that has been built in the south-east region around the application from Waterford Institute of Technology for university status. However, the relevant wider policy developments I have outlined are also fundamental to her consideration of the appropriate next steps in regard to the application. The Waterford application is currently being carefully assessed in that broad context.

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