Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is €1.2 million in the email the president of a particular university sent. He may have got it wrong, but I am reading directly from a letter. The last time I checked no legislation had been passed by the House on technological universities, but the Minister is spending money on this and the HEA is announcing funding for the project. We have not passed the legislation and the Dáil has not decided to proceed in that direction. I would have thought this was premature and there needs to be more reflection on the Technological Universities Bill. In fact, it needs to be passed if it is to proceed and it has not yet done so. The Minister has announced he wants it to proceed, but as of yet he has not brought it before the House. It has been reinstated on the Order Paper but I have not been informed of any date on which the remaining Stages of the legislation have been scheduled.

Why is this money being spent when the Dáil has not established it? To me, this is something the Minister would have railed about in the past in his successful role as Opposition finance spokesperson with regard to spending money. I would not have thought money could be spent on items which have not been passed by the House. This is something that has been brought to my attention recently. I will certainly look into it a bit more and I would like the Minister's explanation. It is certainly not within his remit to anticipate any decision the Dáil might or might not take on the Technological Universities Bill. Our priority with regard to technological universities, if they are to exist, and with regard to the third level sector, is that access is as convenient as possible for students and to ensure in all of this that nobody will end up being disadvantaged with regard to access not only to institutions but also to subjects within institutions. The whole point of the regional college structure as it was established and then turned into institutions of technology was to make further education accessible to provincial communities and the outlying parts of the greater Dublin area. We do not want to see any reduction in this but we question money being spent on something that is not law and has not been agreed as of yet.

The schools capital plan is always launched with huge fanfare. I suppose every Government is guilty of this, but the previous Government became specialists in pre-announcing projects which were many years away. Capital expenditure will only return to pre-2011 levels by 2019. In recent years, the Government may well have been getting better value for money as prices decreased, but construction inflation is probably increasing. We need more investment in this as there are problems with schools. There are many schools on the list but, in reality, under current financial levels they have no prospect of getting the go-ahead for their projects. In some cases it is in the realm of fantasy this will happen unless the budget is increased substantially. The Minister's officials warned him about this in very stark terms in the briefing note they gave him on his assumption to office.

The Minister highlighted a number of projects that will be supported by the third level capital budget, but the reality is they are pretty much the only third level projects that will be supported. Deputy Cullinane will certainly be happy with the work taking place at Waterford Institute of Technology. Mention was also made of works at University of Limerick and Grangegorman, but there is very little else. This is of concern because we need capacity. Numbers in the third level sector are increasing and it needs capacity. There is virtually no State investment in buildings or research facilities and this has been the case since 2008. Approximately 40% of the higher education system's infrastructure is below standard and this will have to be seriously addressed in the near future or we will not be able to compete. The standard of our educational facilities is a key driver of the outcomes of our third level education system. They are attractive places to do research, study or gain qualifications and they are attractive for students coming from abroad, and we will lose out if funding is not available for them.

We will not oppose the Estimate or quibble about it too much. We need the money that is being spent. However, the Minister will have to fight very hard to ensure schools stay open and the threat outlined by his officials in the briefing note does not come to fruition. He must ensure the capitation rate is increased and there is sufficient money for capital spending. He will have to announce his proposals shortly with regard to reinstating the guidance counselling service, as discussed and as referred to in the supply and confidence agreement, and with regard to postgraduate grants.

I look forward to hearing the Minister's proposals on these items and, possibly, Revised Estimates and Estimates for next year. We want to see some action on them because they are very important as I have outlined. We must systematically prioritise investment in our education system. I know the Minister agrees with this, but we need to see action on it. We have a sustained record in education of delivering for society. It is not just about the economy, important though that is. We have a well-rounded society, by and large, through opening people's minds through teaching them and then developing our economy through the research done here with the availability of highly educated graduates. It must be a top priority for the Government and for the Minister to ensure the necessary funding is delivered.

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