David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I acknowledge that the Minister, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, has done more on this issue in the months he has been in office than his various predecessors did over many years. That is most welcome. The Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, stated in his reply:

The first step is to provide clarity on those performance criteria, which will enable institutes of technology to consider their future options in an informed way.

The concern in Waterford is that any change might amount to no more than a name change, with institutes of technology designated as first tier or second tier and the latter perhaps redefined as technological universities but without being on a par with the other nine universities. While I accept there may be logic in having technological universities, there is legitimate concern in Waterford Institute of Technology in this regard. Going back to the point I made about the nurse education building and the humanities courses provided by Waterford IT, how will they fit into a technological university? That is another legitimate concern. Nevertheless, I welcome the positive moves made by the Government thus far. It has done more in recent months than previous Administrations have done for many years.