David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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463. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to fractured industrial relations in Waterford Institute of Technology that are resulting in a large number of cases in the WRC and courts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41165/20]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Employees, in Higher Education Institutions, have a number of industrial relation mechanisms available to them to address queries on employment matters, with either their employer or their union representatives.

If unions wish to raise issues, there are also structures within which they can do so, which include Fora for unions representing a wide range of staff.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) promotes the maintenance of good  workplace relations and all parties are free to access this service, so as to ensure the compliance of the relevant employment laws.  My department supports the work of the WRC in bringing the relevant parties together to seek resolutions on industrial relations matters and encourages the parties to use the available mechanisms that promotes the improvement of industrial relations.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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464. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount spent over the past four years by Waterford Institute of Technology or on behalf of the Institute or Department on legal fees, awards and settlements associated with staff grievances and lawsuits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41166/20]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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465. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount spent over the past four years by Waterford Institute of Technology or on its behalf on consultants for improving industrial relations and increases in insurance premiums; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41167/20]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 464 and 465 together.

My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to HEA designated higher education institutions. The HEA allocates this funding as a block grant to the institutions. As autonomous bodies, the internal disbursement of this funding and private funding streams, including any expenditure on the items queried by the Deputy, are a matter for the individual institution.

However, to assist the Deputy my officials requested that the HEA undertake to collate the data from Waterford Institute of Technology and the institute have provided the following information:

- Over the past 4 years the Institute incurred a total of €160,215 (€40,000 p.a.) in legal fees associated with staff grievances and lawsuits. The majority of these costs are related to the Institute defending cases brought by and appealed by the TUI. There was a total of 3 settlements made via the WRC or Labour Court in the period, the total value of these settlements amount to €28,100.

- The Institute has not incurred any consultancy costs associated with improving industrial relations however the Institute has availed of the services of the WRC Advisory Services to assist in resolving grievances and other matters brought by the TUI. There has not been any additional increase in insurance costs related to industrial relations.  

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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466. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if fractured industrial relations at Waterford Institute of Technology pose a risk to the timely achievement of a technological university for the southeast; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41168/20]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Under the statutory framework detailed in the Technological Universities Act 2018, it is a matter, in the first instance, for the relevant Institutes of Technology participating in a TU development consortium to progress their plans and, when ready, to make an application to the Minister seeking an order establishing a TU subject to their meeting the eligibility criteria prescribed in the 2018 Act.  

The Government recognises the urgency attached to the requirement for a technological university for the South East of Ireland as the only region in the State that does not have the benefit of a university presence and is committed to delivering on the Programme for Government commitment in this regard.  

In July I announced the appointment by the Technological University for the South East of Ireland (TUSEI) development consortium of Mr Tom Boland, former Chief Executive of the Higher Education Authority, as an independent programme executive director to drive to completion the submission of an application for TU designation under the 2018 Act.

Mr. Boland’s appointment and subsequent work he has embarked on with the staff, students and stakeholders of both IT Carlow and Waterford IT represents a step change in the pace of the project. The consortium completed a detailed project plan covering all aspects of the project completed in October. The plan is fed by 8 detailed work stream sub-plans contributed to, in turn, by 31 working groups with a combined total of over 300 staff participating.

I met the Presidents of the two institutes along with the Chairpersons of their governing bodies and Mr. Boland in late October and we discussed their progress to date.  Subsequently my Department is monitoring the progression of the TUSEI consortium plan on a monthly basis with the programme executive director and will continue to do so up to the making of an application which the consortium anticipates making by the end of April 2021.

In terms of the ongoing commitment of the Waterford IT staff in particular to the delivery of a TU in the South East this is evidenced by the overwhelming acceptance of 93% of the Teachers’ Union Ireland branch at the Institute when balloted last year on the TUSEI consortium proposal. The Institute’s staff are continuing to drive the TUSEI project through active leadership and participation in the various TUSEI working groups established since the appointment of the new programme executive director earlier this year.

I am assured that the management, staff and students of Waterford IT are fully committed to working with their colleagues and counterparts in IT Carlow towards the establishment of a new technological university in the South East by 2022.