David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House to take this Adjournment matter and thank her for taking it because I am sure she knows it is a very important issue for the people of Waterford and the entire south east.

I am an enthusiastic supporter of a multi-campus technological university for the south east. I want to say that at the outset. I have always fully supported the process. I fully supported the benchmarking and the very strict criteria which have been set for both institutes. If we are to get a university in the south east, and we need one as quickly as possible, it has to be one that reaches the very highest standards, acts as a proper university and takes it place as one of the top performing universities on the island. Therefore, I fully support the benchmarking which has been set. I am also conscious that from the very start of this process there have been people - described within the south east as dark forces - within the Department, within the Higher Education Authority, HEA, within the academic world and possibly even within both institutes who have never wanted this to happen, who are precious about the existing universities and who do not want a new university in the south east. Perhaps that is partly responsible for the mess we are now in, given what happened over recent weeks with the withdrawal from the process of Waterford Institute of Technology, WIT and, a couple of days ago, the resignation of the chairperson of the board. There is no doubt that academic politics are part of what is happening here. The simple reality is this messing has to stop.

We must have a process that works and delivers, and we cannot continue with the educational apartheid we have on this island and in this State, where the south east is without a university. The Government must intervene and ensure this process stays on track, that the ship is steadied, that we stay the course and that we deliver for each and every one of the students of the south east. This is far too serious an issue for anyone to play political games. I am fully behind the process and the multi-campus technological university, but I am not behind the games that are being played. I am not behind what I see in some parts of the process as a flaw. There seem to be mixed messages from both institutes on whether they can meet the criteria. There are genuine concerns that the process is being held back because of that. That must be dealt with. We have to be open and honest with people in terms of where the process is at. I am told by a person in Waterford Institute of Technology that the process could take five years, ten years or even 20 years if it is not varied or if we do not see a change of the phasing or of the legislation to enable the multi-campus university to come about much sooner.

I have a number of questions for the Minister. Why are we so obsessed with a process that clearly is not working? I accept most of the process and the very high benchmarks. It is clear, however, that the process has not worked up to now. Perhaps the Minister will be able to tell us why that is the case. Why are we not prepared to change it? Why is full university status not being looked at for Waterford and the south east? That question is being asked of me as a public representative and I am sure of all the public representatives. I also have a very direct, blunt question to the Minister about the resignation of the chairperson. Did the Minister ask the chairperson to resign or did he resign voluntarily? That is an important question because there are a lot of rumours going around Waterford and the south east. The Minister is best placed to answer that and to set the record straight. It is a very honest, direct question to the Minister on why that chairperson resigned and if there was any political interference in his decision-making on that. Will the Minister answer those questions directly and will she set out what she, as Minister, is doing to ensure this process stays on track? What is the likely timeframe? That is probably the critical question people will be asking themselves. When will this be delivered? We have jumped through so many hoops and over so many hurdles. People have an entitlement to know the answer to that question as well.