John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for restating the Government's commitment to expanding the footprint of the campus in Waterford which is obviously key to cementing the gains that have been made in terms of provision but also future-proofing the university and its provision of education and research within the region. It is important to lay out the timelines attaching to that process. I appreciate that the Minister is facing constraints with regard to commercial sensitivities while SETU negotiates with the owner of the site. I am trying to ascertain the expected timeline for it to be given a mandate to do so. I am relatively confident that the work that was done at the front end of this process by the then Waterford Institute of Technology will yield a positive result at the back end of the process, but SETU has to be enabled now to proceed to the next step in this regard. I appreciate that this is not solely within the remit of the Minister's Department, but I would appreciate it if he could provide an assurance on the timeline that he expects from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for him ultimately to give SETU the sanction.