John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this topic and thank the Minister of State for attending to reply to my queries. All of us in the west know that the campus of GMIT has played a huge role in the economic, educational and social life of Castlebar, Mayo and the surrounding regions over the many years since it was founded in, I believe, the 1980s. Issues have arisen in recent times in regard to underinvestment and lack of upgrading of facilities, as well as the range of course development. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, and the then Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, visited the campus earlier this year, met the president and the staff and set up a working group.

To be fair to the Minister, Deputy Bruton, he gave a commitment that GMIT Castlebar would have a sustainable future on the Mayo campus. My understanding now is that the report has been completed but has not yet been signed off on or published. I raise this query because I believe that should happen at the earliest opportunity in order to provide certainty for staff and the current students, but, more importantly, for the students who will be filling out CAO forms in the early weeks in January. We need to provide that certainty immediately in order to maximise the potential of the Castlebar complex.