Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Lowry. I will undertake to keep him informed. To give him a sense of the scale of the transformation, my understanding is that under the new European universities initiatives the AIT and LIT consortium will join what is called RUN-EU which is a regional university network in the European Union. This is the way to create one of several new European universities capable of transcending languages, borders and disciplines. It is a project that is being worked on at EU level and is expected to be completed by 2024.

The technological universities genuinely have the ability to transform our higher education landscape in this country. Technological University Dublin is now up and running. I and the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, were there last week. The Munster technological university is due to start in January 2021. There is also the north west, the south east and the project that is dear to the Deputy's heart in terms of AIT and LIT and the benefits to Thurles, Clonmel and the mid-west region. There are three very big exciting projects under way, all of which have been committed to by the Government. A huge amount of work has to be done. In the case to which the Deputy referred, a huge amount of work is being done by many people and I want to acknowledge that and thank them.

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