Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for the opportunity to address this issue and I appreciate that Senator Cullinane has raised the matter before.

As Members will be aware, we are rolling out a higher education reform programme that will significantly enhance the quality of higher education for the country and its regions. A high priority is the consolidation of the technological sector, helping to create new multi-campus technological universities of significant scale and strength where merging groups of institutes reach a high performance bar before attaining this new status. Three consortiums have formally entered that process. Two of them in Dublin and Munster are significantly advanced and submitted detailed plans for merger to the Higher Education Authority earlier this summer. The independent expert panel appointed by the HEA to assess the plans has given the green light to the two consortiums to proceed towards merger and application for technological university status.

As Members will be aware, before Christmas Waterford IT announced it was suspending activities relating to a merger with IT Carlow, which could lead to the creation of a technological university in the south east. This Government is committed to the creation of a multi-campus technological university for the south east, as outlined in the programme for Government. The process and criteria to attain this new status were published in early 2012. One of the criteria was to merge, an aspect which was clearly understood at the time.

I announced before Christmas a new process to reinvigorate the technological university of the south east project. Senator Craughwell mentioned staff in his contribution and I can assure him that staff will be included in the consultation. I will check to ensure that has happened as intended. I appointed Mr. Michael Kelly to lead a process of consultation with the governing bodies, staff and students in Waterford Institute of Technology and Carlow Institute of Technology, as well as regional stakeholders, in order to develop a shared vision for a technological university in the south east and to serve the region. As former chairman of the Higher Education Authority, Mr. Kelly is well known within the sector. He has also played a leading role in chairing the consortium that has sought to establish a technological university in the Dublin region. Therefore, he has an in-depth knowledge of what is needed to create such an institution. He will be asked to report in the coming weeks on the outcome of the process in which he is currently engaged. We firmly believe that multi-campus technological universities will make a positive contribution to third level education in Ireland and to their regions.

I reiterate that the concept of a merger is one of the criteria that was set out and agreed back in 2012. When I met the representatives of the two institutions, Carlow and Waterford, they gave me to understand that they accepted that a merger was one of the criteria. Subsequently, the Waterford institute withdrew.

Mr. Kelly will report to me soon. I appreciate that the Senators have expressed to me concerns that have been brought to their attention. Both institutes know that merger is part of the criteria that were laid down from the very early stages. I hope that we will see progress in the near future.