Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 445: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding the application made by the governing body of Cork Institute of Technology for designation as a university in accordance with Section 9 of the Universities Act 1997. [13968/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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To date applications have been received to invoke Section 9 of the Universities Act, 1997 from Cork Institute of Technology, Dublin Institute of Technology and Waterford Institute of Technology. Any such application requires a detailed examination in the context not only of the detailed statutory process to which they are subject but also of their wider implications for higher education policy generally.

These applications raise significant issues regarding Government policy towards higher education, in particular the existing roles of the Universities and Institutes of Technology which have distinctive missions from each other, provide different levels and types of academic programmes, fulfil different roles in the community and have separate academic and governance structures.

The Government wants to build on our strengths and to provide an environment where all our higher education institutions can develop in a way that best serves the country as a whole and the regions where they are based. These issues must be central to consideration of the appropriate next steps in relation to all applications, which I have been examining in conjunction with my Government colleagues.

While Dr Port's recent report is specifically on the Waterford application, it also provides a useful analysis of the wider context in which any application for designation as a university must be considered. The report provides an overview of the complex issues involved and will contribute to an informed debate, nationally and regionally on the issue and help inform final consideration of the matter.

The options presented in the Port Report are being examined carefully by officials of my Department and the Higher Education Authority with a view to developing specific proposals on the appropriate next steps in the context of wider considerations.