Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am a firm believer that having access to a university in your county and community makes a real difference.

I met a number of the students at the Wexford campus. Similarly to the Deputy, they told me that they could not have accessed third level education were it not for the provision of a campus in Wexford. We must now ask what more we can do in Wexford and what the benefits would be in terms of foreign direct investment, job creation and playing into the strengths of the south east, complementing the work in Waterford and at the Waterford Crystal site. I see Deputy Shanahan sitting beside Deputy Murphy.

I would be happy to go to Wexford again and meet all of the stakeholders. The Government and the president of SETU are clear that a state-of-the-art Wexford campus is key – it is in SETU’s published strategic plan, which has been passed by the governing authority – but everyone needs to understand that the president has a process that she must follow, and she is correct in how she is following it. We must follow the various approval processes as well. This does not in any way, shape or form mean that SETU does not intend to slot this into the master plan. It does, and I look forward to that plan going out for public consultation in June and getting the feedback in October. I look forward to visiting Wexford and having engagement on this shortly.

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