Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

483. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has identified any educational merits to the proposed merger between Cork Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology Tralee, County Kerry; the purpose of the prerequisite for institutes to merge prior to being considered for technological university status; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10369/15]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

484. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the fact that students currently attending institutes of technology will receive a higher level of education if the institutes have their status changed to that of technological universities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10370/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 484 and 483 together.

The original vision for the technological sector and for its contribution to the economic, social and cultural life of regions remains valid today but even more is expected of the sector now – more in terms of flexibility, more in terms of responsiveness to regional and local communities, more in terms of responsiveness to the needs of a rapidly changing enterprise sector, and an increasingly diverse workforce.

Some institutes of technology have set out to challenge themselves to enhance their performance across the board and embarked upon a developmental path towards becoming Technological Universities and will have to reach a high performance bar to achieve this. A status change will not be possible without merged institutes reaching this bar. The proposed mergers will create institutions of greater scale and strength and will bring significant benefits to their region.