Written answers

Thursday, 10 October 2019

Department of Education and Skills

Technological Universities

Photo of John DeasyJohn Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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129. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has advised Waterford and Carlow Institutes of Technology of the way in which the projected combined deficit, debt and payroll costs of the planned technological university of the south east, reportedly estimated at €26 million by 2024-2025, will be addressed. [41490/19]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Projected costs and their effective management by the relevant higher education institutions associated with the development and operation of any particular TU proposals, such as those by the TUSEI consortium, are matters to be addressed by those institutions in the first instance. It would not be appropriate for the Department to comment on financial projections associated with any particular TU development consortium.

To date Government has provided the TUSEI consortium, comprising Waterford IT and IT Carlow, with 1.72m in Exchequer funding to assist its TU development proposals. I will shortly be announcing the 2019 higher education landscape funding allocations, including further support for all TU consortia and for TU Dublin.

In addition, Government announced in Budget 2020 a new dedicated TU Transformation Fund of €90 million over the next three years. This is a state change in the Exchequer funding of TUs and TU development consortia and represents almost a trebling of current annual higher education landscape funding for same. This is evidence of the strong and ongoing commitment by Government to supporting the creation of TUs.

The new fund arises from work undertaken to date by the high level working group, TURN, of which all TU development consortia including TUSEI are members, in examining issues of mutual interest and concern on a collaborative basis. The final TURN report will be formally presented to the Department in the coming weeks.

TURN’s work to date should be of significant benefit to TU development consortia such as TUSEI in seeking to advance their proposals for TU designation under the Technological Universities Act 2018.

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