Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy's sentiments. I am aware this bundle has been on the run for a while and I hear his frustration on that point. I want to assure him and his constituents, and the staff and students in ATU Galway in particular, that things have not been standing still. There is a very live process underway in relation to bundle 2 which includes this STEM project for Galway. I have confirmed to the Deputy in the Dáil this morning that we are hopeful of being able to bring that to a financial close. I just do not want to say anything that in anyway undermines the work of my Department and others involved as the procuring agency. I also make the point, which in fairness the Deputy has acknowledged, that while this project has been working its way through the various processes, other projects in ATU Galway, from a capital point of view, have progressed. We announced a multi-million euro investment project this week which will expand and improve facilities for students in a range of areas, including science and computing, and there is also the acquisition for the ATU Galway campus of the Crowley Park lands, a project that was also running around for quite a few years and which I was delighted to be able to bring to a conclusion earlier this year

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