John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)

I thank the Minister for his kind words and I wish him well in the tough job he has in the years to come. I am sure he will do this best.

Four years ago, the former Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin, appointed Dr. Jim Port to assess the case for university status in the south east. Other prominent individuals and organisations such as SIPTU, Dr. Peter Bacon, South Eastern Regional Authority, Waterford City Development Board, Deloitte Consulting and politicians from all parties, in particular, those from Fine Gael and the Labour Party who were in opposition at the time, unequivocally stated there was an imbalance in the region because of the lack of a university. The population of the south east is 450,000. Within a 45 minute radius of WIT, the population is 267,000 whereas within the same radius of Galway, it is 167,000. The critical mass exists in the south east for a university.

According to the latest statistics for entry to third level, the figure for Waterford and the south east is 11.2% as opposed to 15.2% nationally and 22% in Dublin. Surely that highlights the case for full university status. It has been proven that many people who leave their home areas to attend university do not return. Why does the Minister think the south east should be different from the mid-west or the west, which have full universities?

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