Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Murphy and Harkin. I note those metrics and will reflect on them. In the period between now and December the Connacht-Ulster alliance plans to finalise its memorandum of understanding with the Teachers Union of Ireland; hold monthly meetings with representatives of professional management and support staff; verify key achievements of technological university criteria and metrics; consider the final reports from their due diligence consultants; continue internal and external communications and consultations as part of stakeholder engagement; prepare business process alignment, including for IT services; and finalise and submit an application for technological university designation to me under the Technological Universities Act 2018 at the end of this year. Clearly there is a lot of work going on and I commend the alliance on that. The main issue for the consortium relates to attainment of the research-related eligibility criteria under the Act, and it is working towards achieving that objective. Currently, the research metric is at 3.4% but I am informed that projections for enrolments in September indicate achievement of this metric. The consortium believes it is in a good place in that regard. Processes are also in place to quantify and document the achievement of staff qualifications. I will keep the Deputies informed.

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