Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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The formal application to the Department of Education and Science by Waterford Institute of Technology seeking upgrading to university status was lodged in February 2006. A spokesman for the institute stated at the time:

The expectation is that a national and international panel of respected higher educationalists will adjudicate on the merits of the institute's case and their report will be submitted to the Higher Education Authority. This expectation is absolutely in line with section 9 of the Universities Act 1997.

When I raised this matter in an Adjournment debate in October 2006, I pointed out that this panel had not been set up. That is still the position in December 2007.

In reality, the position is even worse. In her reply to a recent parliamentary question, the Minister for Education and Science failed to confirm that consideration of the report of Dr. Jim Port on the submission of Waterford Institute of Technology would be concluded in her Department by the end of 2009. It was in November 2006 that the appointment of an independent expert, Dr. Jim Port, to conduct a preliminary assessment of the Waterford Institute of Technology submission was announced. I stated at the time that this was nothing other than a political ploy to carry the Government through the upcoming general election. It gave the impression that something was happening, when the opposite was the case. Events have borne out my judgment. This is an unnecessary additional step that effectively postpones the implementation of the statutory process laid out in the Universities Act in regard to the application process for the setting up of a university of the south east.

The Minister admits she is cognisant of the strong support that has developed in the south-east region for the application from Waterford Institute of Technology for university status. However, neither the Taoiseach nor the Government has the slightest intention of approving this concept, which would allow for a hub campus in Waterford and associated centres in other counties in the region.

Figures published by the Central Statistics Office in February 2007 show that, in 2004, disposable income per person in the south-east region was 8.8% below the national average. This is the lowest in the eight regional authority areas. The 2005 report by Goodbody Economic Consultants, commissioned by Waterford Chamber of Commerce, found that the move to university status would generate €96.7 million annually for the region's economy and create 2,215 direct and indirect jobs. If Waterford Institute of Technology remains as it is, the study estimates the employment it generates will remain static and it will produce €70 million for the economy.

This illustrates the great need for a university of the south east. The benefit of such an establishment will not be confined to the region but will be nationwide. Without a university, the region will continue to under-perform particularly in regard to the knowledge economy where the potential for job creation must be urgently developed. Even if the statutory process set out in the Universities Act 1997 were set in motion today, the various stages would take considerable time to conclude.

The Government must conclude its delaying game and implement the report of Dr. Jim Port. It must cease inhibiting the vital progress of the south-east region and let the submission from Waterford Institute of Technology be assessed as the law provides. The Government cannot continue to ignore the 460,000 people in the south-east region and their vital interests in terms of development and of the prosperity of their children and grandchildren. The good effects of the establishment of a university in the region will go beyond this. This sham must come to an end without delay.

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. In February 2006 the governing body of Waterford Institute of Technology wrote to the Department of Education and Science requesting a review of its status under section 9 of the Universities Act 1997.

The provisions of section 9 state that the Government may appoint a body, which will include international experts, to advise the Higher Education Authority on whether, having regard to the objects and functions of a university, an educational institution should be established as a university. On the advice of the body and the recommendation of the Higher Education Authority, the Government may, by order, provide that the institution shall be a university for the purposes of this Act.

To assist the Department in its assessment of Waterford IT's application, the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, appointed Dr. Jim Port in February 2007 to provide preliminary advice on the merits of the submission by WIT. In particular, he would have regard to the national strategy for the development of higher education; implications for regional development in the south east in the context of the national spatial strategy; and any likely implications for the overall structure of higher education in Ireland. Dr. Port's report was received in late July 2007 and is currently under consideration.

Aside from consideration of the nature of the statutory review process that is provided to progress an application for designation as a university, there are also significant wider issues that must be considered in the context of a decision to institute a statutory review. For example, there have been important and relevant wider policy developments in the overall higher education sector. In particular, it is important that account is taken of the very significant recent changes in the overall legislative framework governing Irish higher education, with the commencement of the new Institutes of Technology Act 2006 on 1 February 2007. There is also a wider Government policy on foot of the review of Irish higher education carried out by the OECD in 2004, the broad thrust of which was endorsed by the Government.

A central conclusion of the OECD review was to support Ireland's strategic ambition of placing our higher education system at the front rank of the OECD in the context of the wider national objective of Ireland developing as a world-leading knowledge economy and society. A key recommendation made in the OECD report to the Government was that Ireland should retain the differentiation in mission of the university and institute of technology sectors, which it identified as a key strength of our system, and that there should be no institutional transfers into the university system for the foreseeable future.

The report also recommended that the universities and institutes of technology should be brought together under the remit of a single authority for the purpose of achieving a unified higher education strategy. It further recommended the extent of external regulation of the institutes of technology should be lightened, giving them greater managerial freedom in responding to the opportunities and challenges of supporting regional and national social and economic development.

The Institutes of Technology Act 2006 addresses significant elements of these recommendations and marks a major milestone for the sector and the development of higher education in Ireland. It provides for greater autonomy for the institutes to fulfil their missions and by bringing them within the remit of the Higher Education Authority, it supports an integrated and cohesive strategic approach to the development of higher education in line with national priorities.

The Act means, in practice, that the HEA and the institutes of technology will now engage in a way that is very similar to the way the HEA and the universities engage. The new arrangements provide for a more autonomous and strategic relationship with Government, through the HEA, reflecting the dynamic and competitive nature of the environment in which the institutes are now operating.

The Minister is cognisant of the strong support built in the south-east region around the application from Waterford IT for university status. An application for designation as a university has also been received from the Dublin Institute of Technology and my Department is currently examining the submission and supporting documentation provided by DIT. The relevant wider policy developments I have outlined above are also fundamental to the Minister's consideration of the appropriate next steps in both applications.