Rónán Mullen (Independent)

Arising from what other speakers have said, it is all very well for the Government to prioritise the upgrading of Waterford Institute of Technology and to give it university status. I am aware reports commissioned by Waterford Chamber of Commerce and others point to possible benefits if the institute of technology is so upgraded and I know it is part of the programme for Government. However, it is interesting that it took the job losses at Talk Talk to see this issue suddenly put on the agenda. I wonder whether issues are being managed at the level of PR more than anything else when we see this quick upgrading of the priority given to the goal of creating a new university in the south east.

I raise this issue because I wonder whether it is easier to make this type of commitment than it is to deal with the hard questions of the type being asked by the new Provost of Trinity College, Professor Prendergast. He stated he needs funding and freedom and we need to debate these issues. Professor Prendergast also stated if there was more flexibility in how university authorities were able to run their colleges, they would be able to become employers and do more to attract students from foreign lands.

A key issue which the Provost has raised is that of university fees for those who can afford to pay them. It is easy to make a promise to create a new university, but whether that new university will be capable of delivering the type of opportunities for its region that it might will depend on whether universities have the funding they need to excel. The Government will have to deal with these harder questions and face up to more difficult issues such as the question of university fees. Let us have this debate in the House.