Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

76. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his objectives and plans to grant technological university status further to an application by Athlone Institute of Technology and Limerick Institute of Technology; his views on the application which will incorporate the satellite campuses of Thurles and Clonmel, County Tipperary; the budget available to implement plans for this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31184/20]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My question is in respect of the proposal to grant technological university status to Athlone Institute of Technology, AIT, and Limerick Institute of Technology, LIT. Will the Minister outline his objectives and plans in that regard? I ask the Minister to look favourably on an application to establish a new technological university comprising these two institutes of higher education which incorporate the satellite campuses of Thurles and Clonmel in my constituency of Tipperary. I further ask him to confirm his intention to implement these plans.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and for the conversations we have had on it recently. I know the Deputy sees the benefit of the technological universities, as do I, not just from an educational point of view, which is massive, but also from the points of view of regional development and job creation. I already know there are companies in the Deputy's region that cite the availability of highly qualified graduates as a key draw to the region. If we can increase that even further, it can only be good for Tipperary and the mid-west.

As the Deputy knows, the development and progression of technological universities is a firm policy objective of the Government and is clearly underscored by commitments in the programme for Government. The 2019 technological universities research network report details the case and requirements for a step change in higher education reform whereby technological universities will assist in the delivery of national strategic objectives for regional socioeconomic development, higher education access and research and skills progression. The idea that all roads must lead to some big city is a mindset we need to move away from when it comes to access to higher education.

On foot of that report, the Government announced in budget 2020 the provision of €90 million over the next three years under a new transformation fund to support institutes of technology to jointly achieve technological university designation.

On 7 October I, along with the HEA, announced Exchequer funding of €34.33 million for the progression and development of technological universities nationally. The AIT and LIT consortium, which the Deputy referenced, was allocated €5 million in this first funding allocation and in total has received €7 million since 2019. Further funding allocations will be made under the transformation fund in the period to 2023. Under the statutory framework detailed in the Technological Universities Act 2018, it is a matter in the first instance for the relevant institutes of technology participating in a consortium to progress their plans and, when ready, to make an application to me seeking an order establishing a technological university subject to their jointly meeting the eligibility criteria.

I want to acknowledge that Athlone IT and Limerick IT have been working very hard since 2019 on proposals to achieve technological university status. In this context, my Department understands that the development consortium is aiming to make a submission in accordance with the requirements of the Act in the coming weeks.

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. As he is aware, a huge body of work has been completed by the umbrella group representing all stakeholders. This detailed process involves scoping out structures, governance, programmes and staffing. After extensive consultation and comprehensive interaction, agreement has been reached on all of these key elements. How long does the Minister anticipate that it will take his Department to analyse, assess and evaluate the proposal? Will there be a need for external independent evaluation? Does he hope to be in a position to grant the necessary approvals? When does he hope to be in a position to grant the necessary approvals? Is he satisfied that his Department has adequate funding and a budget to resource his plans and ambitions, in particular this project?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Lowry. I agree with him that a massive amount of work has been undertaken. I think more than 20 working groups are working across 30 different work packages to try to get to this point. I want to thank the project directors and the joint chairs from AIT and LIT for what have been years of work. It is up to them, but it is to be hoped that they will arrive at a point where they can submit an application to me very shortly. I believe they are trying to do that by the end of the year.

The timeline the Deputy referred to is laid out in the 2018 Act. Once I receive an allocation I have up to four months to appoint an expert advisory panel from nominations provided by the Higher Education Authority, HEA, and Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI. The panel reports to the HEA within four months of its appointment and the HEA must report to me within a further two months. That is ten months in total. I then have up to two months to make a preliminary decision. A period of up a year is involved. These are maximum deadlines. It all depends on many things happening and going right. In theory, if an application was submitted by the end of the year a decision could be made by the summer of 2021 and it would be possible that a new technological university, subject to all of the approval processes, could be established in 2022.

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Minister can understand my particular interest in this because this is a ground-breaking initiative for LIT and the campuses in Thurles and Clonmel. There is no doubt that it would have a transformative effect on the educational and enterprise landscape of the county. It has been proven in many other cases, such as Athlone and Limerick, that a local university producing highly qualified graduates will enhance the opportunities for inward investment and job creation, and that would obviously apply to Thurles and County Tipperary.

Our institute in Thurles has travelled a long way. It is because of the vision, creativity and dedication of staff that it has overcome much turbulence and adversity. I hope we are now on the brink of a new future as an integral part of a new identity and plan. I am grateful for the Minister's encouragement and support. I look forward to working with him and his officials to bring this initiative to a successful conclusion.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | 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.