Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I often heard that when students leave, they do not return. A technological university in Waterford and Carlow will strengthen the offer available to students who will be able to continue to masters and postgraduate level, including PhDs. While I know it is possible to do this now, we want to strengthen the offer. The functions of a technological university are listed in section 9, which shows precisely what is the thinking behind technological university formation.

I will now address the amendment. I thank the Acting Chairman for showing me such latitude. The name for a technological university is a matter, in the first instance, for the institutes applying for the designation as a technological university. This process will also take proposals on how the individual campuses within the technological university will be named. An order under section 36 provides for the establishment of a technological university and the specification of its name. There is no requirement to specify that the technological university be allowed to describe itself as a technological university as that is the purpose of section 36.

Section 8(2) simply provides a mechanism whereby any subsequent decision on changing the name from that originally specified and required for operational purposes may be so specified by the Minister in consultation with the technological university. This is not a decision that would be imposed arbitrarily by the Minister and it would be a mechanism used only with the agreement of both parties. It is a provision that allows for a degree of flexibility in this matter should it be required at any future stage. I cannot, therefore, accept the amendment.