David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon. On a number of occasions I have tabled motions on the jobs situation in Waterford and the Minister of State has often come to the House to reply, and I thank him for that. I have also constantly raised the need for a technological university for the south east and its critical importance for improving the awful situation in Waterford and the south east in general with regard to job creation.

The unemployment figures for the south east and Waterford city and county are truly appalling. They are well above the national average. According to the most recent figures from the Central Statistics Office, the unemployment rate in Waterford city is 25.1%, which is not just an unacceptable figure but also a dangerously high one. The Government must seriously examine the very high level of unemployment in Waterford city and ensure it takes the appropriate and necessary action by putting in place the required interventions to help the city, county and region. I believe a suite of interventions is necessary. It should include added support from enterprise agencies, government spending in the city and region, prioritisation of capital projects and a focus on educational attainment. A university is a critical element of that.

An amazing figure relating to Waterford city emerged from the census figures published last year. A total of 48% of the population of the city have not completed secondary level education. That is a huge figure and is probably due to the over-dependence on manufacturing over the years. Obviously, the figure has increased substantially and now represents a sizeable proportion of the population. There is no doubt that we must examine educational attainment levels across Waterford city and county and the south east in general and consider ways in which we can improve them.

The establishment of a technological university would be hugely important for a number of reasons. The last Forfás report on unemployment in Waterford, on foot of the Talk Talk job losses, looked at a number of strengths and areas in which the south east could major. Agri-food is obviously one of them. There is huge potential in milk and dairy production in the future. The triangle of Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford is doing very positive work in the tourism area. There are also the pharmaceutical and science sectors, as well as telecommunications and software. We have, for example, the wonderful Telecommunications Software & Systems Group, TSSG, a research and development company based in Waterford Institute of Technology. It gets its funding almost exclusively from the private sector and from contracts.

However, we need a technological university that is closely aligned with all of those sectors and which has strong links with industry and enterprise to drive change from research and development to connections with industry and turn out graduates who can take up job opportunities. That should be part of a long-term, perhaps ten-year, strategy of the Government for the south east. It should focus on those five or six big sectors in which the south east can major, align all the agencies, including the enterprise agencies, in that strategy and set real targets. The missing ingredient at present is a technological university.

I did some research for this motion. Almost two years ago, after the loss of the jobs at Talk Talk, the Irish Examiner stated that a positive announcement would be made shortly by the Minister for Education and Skills and it was expected that by next year, which is this year, Waterford would have a technological university. That was the statement by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. I am seeking an update on how matters stand. Will the Minister explain to me and the people of Waterford and the south east what the position is with that application? What is the process involved? How long will it be before a decision is made by the Government? It is in the programme for Government but it is absolutely critical for the economic and social development of Waterford city and county and for the south east region. I appeal to the Government to prioritise this as an issue that must be fast-tracked as soon as possible. I look forward to the Minister's response.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this issue.

The framework for system development laid out in the national strategy for higher education to 2030 includes a developmental pathway towards designation as a technological university for merged institutes of technology which seek to apply. The Higher Education Authority, HEA, has been asked to implement this framework. The implementation process is well under way. The Landscape document published in February 2012 lays out a clear four-stage process and criteria for institutes of technology that wish to apply for designation as a technological university. The process for designation is designed to ensure educational quality, objectivity, international expertise, fairness and transparency.

The process consists of four stages overseen by the HEA, with an independent international panel of experts to advise the authority in the final stages. The first stage of the process required institutes of technology which wished to merge and seek designation as a technological university to submit a formal expression of interest to the HEA last July. The HEA will submit its formal advice on an outline configuration for the future higher education system after Easter. This will include advice on the progress of institutes of technology interested in seeking to move to the second stage of the designation process.

The second stage of the process involves detailed project planning followed by submission and evaluation of those plans. How long it then takes for applicants to formally seek designation will depend very much on the capacity of the applicant institutions at the time of plan submission and how long their developmental trajectory towards meeting the criteria will take. Full legal consolidation of the institutes of technology seeking designation also has to occur before the final application for designation is submitted. The drafting of legislative proposals to provide for the amalgamation of institutes of technology and the establishment of technological universities will be advanced in tandem with the designation process as part of the work that is under way on implementing the higher education strategy.

In view of the process that has been put in place to assess proposals for designation as technological universities, it would not be appropriate to comment specifically on any potential applications for designation by any group of institutes of technology.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. I accept the limitations he might be under, given that a number of applications will be made.

This is socially and economically critical to the people of the south east. The Government recognised that when it included it in its programme for Government and I commend the Government for that. I am worried we have opened up a four-way process that might lead to a delay. It might place more hurdles in the way of the institute of technology. We have had too many hurdles and I am also deeply conscious of university politics, which are also at play. The Government must drive this through and take a decision to deliver the university for the people of the south-east?????

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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The Senator can ask a supplementary question, not make a speech. He got a good run.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I do not have a supplementary question, I just want to thank the Minister of State for his response.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State and I thank everybody.