Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am delighted to welcome the Technological Universities Bill. It is a wonderful time in education with the potential of a technological university for the south east, called TUSE, consisting of Waterford Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology, Carlow. I welcome the Bill as it will allow the process to progress. Carlow needs this to set out our stall for attracting foreign investment, foreign students, local investment and local students. I often speak about Carlow being left behind for funding. This Bill and what technological university status will bring to Carlow will be the key to previously unavailable funding that it is hoped will be released.

No existing institutes of technology will have to merge as a precondition of seeking technological university status, which might not have been granted. This was a key precondition of Fianna Fáil's to support the Bill. It is important that this was included because we did not want anyone left behind. That is crucial in the Bill and, as the Minister of State is aware, Fianna Fáil fought hard for it.

The Bill is important for my locality and its students. It will ensure the provision of science, gender equality and multidisciplinary students across all regions that technological universities will serve. It is important for Carlow to be able to ensure that the current level of course provision is protected. The Bill provides for this. It will allow the Institute of Technology, Carlow and others like it to preserve what is already great about it and to grow in order to cater for future student populations, attract wider community investment and improve towns and villages in the vicinity.

In its ethos, the Institute of Technology, Carlow has a strong sense of community and excellence in higher education and research. The institute of technology in Carlow was founded in 1970 and since then has been and is a significant local employer. It is a vital part of many Carlow families.