Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman for his remarks. I sincerely thank Senators for a very informed, stimulating and incisive session. We have had several sessions in this Chamber relating to further and higher education and they have all been very engaging. I think all present agree that we are not just entering a new era in higher education, but advancing purposefully through it. It is an era where we are trying to meet and balance the rightful demands and associated challenges arising from our regional populations for equitable access to higher education, which was in large measure previously the preserve of Dublin and the other major cities. As we have heard again today, Waterford and the south east stands out as a place which is crying out for the provision of the type of higher education institution that a technological university is. Personally, I am very pleased that the Department has recently received an application for TU designation under the relevant legislation from Athlone Institute of Technology and LIT, which are seeking to establish a university in the midlands and mid west.

The move from the existing sectoral organisation to a new higher education landscape is truly what the Technological Universities Research Network, TURN, report has called a step-change in developmental terms. I have heard from a number of contributors. I hope the earlier remarks of the Minister, Deputy Harris, underline that this is not just a rebranding exercise to change the nameplate from "institute of technology" to "technological university". That would be a wasteful and expensive mistake that would do a disservice to the sector and particularly to students and staff. It is a mistake that neither I nor the Government are prepared to make. That is why we are prioritising the TU agenda in the programme for Government. In addition, in practical terms there is prioritisation from the TU development consortiums themselves on the ground in regional centres and gateways such as Athlone, Carlow, Castlebar, Clonmel, Ennis, Killybegs, Letterkenny, Sligo, Thurles and Wexford on a pro-active basis. We want to ensure that all those towns and areas benefit as much as possible on an equitable basis from a TU multi-campus presence. I see the TU agenda as much through a regional development lens as one of higher education transformation. The TUs will enable the regions to explore, expand and maximise their potential through the choices and activities of the students, staff, stakeholders and communities which these institutions support and facilitate.

Naturally, not all TUs will be pursuing the same identical missions and nor should they. There will be particular strengths in different universities, whether that be their research focus or online or blended provision excellence. The latter is something that has been significantly accelerated with Covid-19 and which all higher education institutions must master considerably earlier than envisaged. Alternatively, there may be an emphasis on particular disciplinary strengths across unified institutions, allied to enterprise engagement and innovation spin-outs.

The threads that will run through all TUs are those identified in the TURN report, that is: access; the provision of high-quality research-led teaching and learning excellence across all NFQ levels; and the creation of a welcoming and supportive personal developmental environment which will allow all learners and students to fulfil their individual and societal potential. The development of TUs will bring many benefits to regions and the nation overall. These benefits include: institutional reach; international recognition; research capacity building; attraction of foreign direct investment; skills retention and creation; regional development; enhanced staff and student experience; and opportunities and socio-economic progression.

The Government has committed to a very substantial financial package of support in the transformation fund in the coming years and, as the TURN report recommends, TUs and prospective TUs are being prioritised appropriately in terms of capital investment to underpin the cohesion of their regionally dispersed multi-campuses. The fund will assist in key investment areas including: digital infrastructure; research capacity building; change management; systems integration; governance; project management structures; and information sharing, to establish TUs and assist them to deliver key strategic economic and social development objectives and to respond to specific diverse regional and sectoral impacts such as Brexit. Now more than ever, we need to stay connected and to collaborate with colleagues and partners as peers and equals in the technological sector and in the wider higher education ecosystem nationally and internationally.

The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science continues to work with other Departments and sectoral stakeholders on the implementation of relevant TURN report recommendations. We are encouraging ownership by the sector of the TU development process such as can facilitate this new type of higher education institution to assist the delivery of national and regional strategic priorities such as are set out, for example, in Project Ireland 2040, the national development plan, Future Jobs Ireland, innovation and Horizon 2020.

The TURN high level group which was so pivotal in producing the blueprint for successful TUs last year is being reconvened under the chairmanship of the Higher Education Authority, HEA, initially. The Department and the HEA continue to assist consortiums through the provision of policy guidance, including on appropriate pre-TU establishment governance structures, and by facilitating the exchange of expertise among consortiums and between TU Dublin and consortiums.

Department officials are working with the HEA, TU Dublin and the Teachers Union of Ireland to develop national responses to certain issues which have proved challenging at individual TU consortium level, including online and e-learning policy, review of lecturing, voluntary staff mobility and reassignment, researcher contracts, recruitment and selection policies. The Department is currently working with TU Dublin and will, in time, work with the wider technological sector and relevant Departments, as appropriate, on a process seeking to establish new academic career structures for TUs with sector-wide application. Officials have been in discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the establishment of a borrowing framework for TUs which would enable their accessing funds to progress capital infrastructure such as student accommodation and enable TUs to operate on the same basis as the traditional universities currently do.

Senators raised various questions on specific elements of TU projects and there is understandably a keen interest in the impacts and effects for their own areas, regions and localities.The Minister and I will do our best to answer all such questions in the appropriate fora. We have made a start in that direction today. The Minister has updated Cabinet colleagues on two occasions to date on the TU agenda and we intend to continue to do so regularly as this vital agenda is delivered upon. He is happy to continue to brief public representatives, be that in the Houses of the Oireachtas through the parliamentary questions system or in sessions such as this, on the progression of the TU agenda. He is also meeting with Deputies and Senators on a cross-party regional basis to keep them updated. For example, Senator Malcolm Byrne acts as convenor for his colleagues in the south-east.

This is a good news story, one which we want people everywhere to feel pride in and one which they can take ownership of because these are, or will be, TUs in their regions, serving them. Once again, I thank all Senators for their attention and for the opportunity to discuss these matters with them.