Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Senator Kenneally.

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy Haughey, to the House. Waterford Institute of Technology has been in receipt of major capital investment and its main campus can now support more than 6,000 students. For this reason, as Dr. Edward Walsh, president emeritus of the University of Limerick, stated in January 2005, "The challenge for the State in establishing a university in Waterford should not be significant, either in financial or organisational terms."

We hear daily about the knowledge economy and the importance of producing more graduates and developing strong research skills. The industrial base in the south east relies on traditional manufacturing and agriculture. Upgrading the designation of Waterford Institute of Technology to university status would attract new, high-tech skills to the south east region.