John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I know he is extremely busy. It shows his commitment to Dundalk Institute of Technology, DkIT, and the Dundalk region. It has been very disheartening to see all of these technical universities, TUs, starting up yet Dundalk is not there. The reason is very well known. I am not here today to cast blame on individuals as to why we are not at that standard. I am here to try to find a way forward with the Minister for the future of DkIT and higher education in the north east. There are a couple of key questions I am hoping to get some clarity on from today's debate. The first concerns section 38. This legislative provision was originally made to allow for an IT to join an existing TU. One of the fears I have is that the Department never really envisaged section 38 having to be used for a considerable time. The concept was that TUs are a really good thing and every IT in the country would want to be getting on board. For reasons outlined previously, DkIT has been slow to grasp that nettle. I am hoping for clarity from the Minister or from the HEA that the procedures behind section 38 are in place and when an application comes in from DkIT for a TU, the Minister and his Department will be standing ready and willing to assist DkIT in joining up with a TU.

When we live in an era of misinformation and sound bites it is disingenuous for politicians anywhere to try to suggest that DkIT could be a stand-alone university. There is no such thing as stand-alone universities in the legislation. The TUs are combinations of ITs, not stand-alone universities. We have to be very clear about it in Dundalk as well. To be blunt, 4,000 students is not the critical mass for a stand-alone university. It is totally disingenuous to suggest otherwise and doing so demonstrates a lack of knowledge about the whole process.

On the shared island funding, with Dundalk a Border town, a fear may exist that we might miss out on any potential funding from the shared island unit, which might go to TUs, and that DkIT could be left behind until it joins a TU. It would be great to get confirmation from the Minister that while DkIT is in this transitional stage before it joins a TU, it will not be overlooked for any shared island funding from the shared island unit.

I would like to take the opportunity to praise the Minister for the work he has done on this. He has met Oireachtas Members from counties Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan so many times over the last year. He has met stakeholders involved with DkIT and has been able to meet me at any stage to discuss DkIT. I thank him for that. I would like to invite him to DkIT at some stage in the next couple of months, early in the new year. This would allow him to meet stakeholders directly, see the campus for himself, and have people who are involved with everyday life in DkIT outline their ambitions and where they see it going with the TU.

I would really appreciate some clarity on section 38, on how DkIT will never really be able to be a stand-alone university and how it is disingenuous to suggest it could be, on the shared island funding, and on the Minister perhaps coming to DkIT at some stage in the future.