Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair for the great Seanad 100 event this morning. It was absolutely wonderful to see former President, Mary Robinson and Senator David Norris in full flow.

I welcome the extension of the consultation period requested regarding the flood relief measure planned for Ballinasloe. It is excellent news that the OPW is going to co-ordinate an in-person public event. This will be crucial in making sure communities in our area can engage on the huge development, which is to involve flood walls and embankments around the town. It is really great news.

I had the opportunity yesterday to meet the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Simon Harris, who visited Galway, particularly Galway–Mayo Institute of Technology, GMIT, which on 1 April will become the brand new Atlantic Technological University. Some €430 million in Government funding was announced by the Minister yesterday. There are four funding streams under that. The funding will be divided between the traditional university sector and our brand-new technological universities. There will be a specific fund for further and higher education, which is crucial. Just as the Minister has expanded the CAO form to reflect further and higher learning and the apprenticeship programmes, we need to ensure our universities have the funding to match. When we were in GMIT, we got to meet Dr. Orla Flynn, the institute's recently appointed president. She was appointed just in the past two years. We were brought on a tour of the various areas in the college and noted the investment that has taken place through Enterprise Ireland, particularly in respect of medical imaging. There was a jobs announcement in Galway yesterday. It is crucial to see how jobs announcements and investments are linked to investment in research, because the companies are working with all those involved in research and development in the universities. It is important that we recognise that investment in third level results in jobs, income and a better standard of living for people in regional areas. The technological universities appearing in the west and in regional towns across the rest of Ireland are crucial to our development.