David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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651. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress that has been made to advance the technological university for the south east; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9510/21]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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653. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which the location of the headquarters for the new technological university of the south east will be decided; the criteria that will be used in making a decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9512/21]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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668. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way the board of a technological university for the south east will be selected; the apportionment of appointments; the method for same; the representativeness of the board as it relates to constituent institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9791/21]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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669. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way the structure of a technological university and locations for campuses will be determined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9792/21]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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670. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the process for selecting the courses on offer and the way in which such courses will be funded for a new technological university in order to have an expanded range of courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9793/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 651, 653 and 668 to 670, inclusive, together.

I anticipate receiving an application from the TUSEI consortium, comprising WIT and IT Carlow, by 28 April 2021. A project plan has been in place by the consortium since October 2020 and my Department is being kept updated on its progress. To date €8.8 million has been provided in co-funding of the consortium’s proposals, the most recent tranche of €5.1 million was allocated under the Transformation Fund in October 2020.

Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and are responsible for their own day-to-day management and operational affairs, including the management of academic affairs and course provision. 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. The HEA funding model includes weightings for the relative costs of providing education in different disciplines and tuition fee payments for free fees eligible students. As autonomous bodies, the internal disbursement of this funding is a matter for the individual institution.

The legal requirements for the appointment of the first governing body of a technological university is prescribed under Section 55 of the Technological Universities Act 2018. An appointments process is not set in train until a TU has been designated following the prescribed legislative assessment and decision-making processes under the Act.

TU structures and campus related issues are matters in the first instance for a TU as an autonomous higher education institution. Further work is required to advance sectoral apposite career structures in accordance with the 2019 TURN report recommendations. In this context my Department is engaged with the HEA regarding the undertaking of an independent expert bench marking exercise relating to issues including organisation design and academic career structures. This would form part of a progressive, inclusive process with appropriate national inputs.

There is no such term in TU legislation as ‘headquarters’ and upon its establishment it is a matter for a TU, as embodied by the governing body which constitutes staff and student representatives and external members drawn from wider stakeholder groups, as to the functionality of any particular campus within an integrated multi-campus structure.

In my view the focus should continue to be on the benefits of establishing a TU for the entire South East and in supporting and assisting the finalisation and submission of an application for TU designation by the TUSEI consortium.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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652. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to increase the physical footprint of campuses in counties Waterford and Carlow as part of the technological university for the south east process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9511/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It is a priority for my Department to support higher education institutions in their critical role as drivers of social and economic development in their regions. Within this overall context, the creation of Technological Universities represents a radical reconfiguration of the higher education landscape, which will deliver significant benefits for regional development. This will be achieved through a strong focus on industry linkages, higher education access, and research-informed teaching and learning excellence across the full range of the National Framework of Qualifications.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that there are two major Exchequer-funded projects in the pipeline which will significantly enhance higher education infrastructure in the South East and support the development of the new TU. An engineering, ICT and teaching building is planned for the WIT campus - the largest of all projects under the Higher Education Public Private Partnership Programme and a science and health building is planned for IT Carlow under the same programme.

I have been clear in my commitment to expanding the imprint of higher education across the south east region. This includes achieving a long term ambition of securing a more suitable site for IT Carlow's higher education provision in Wexford town and a larger footprint for higher education in Waterford - a city which is targeted for a compact and sustainable population growth of 50% under Project Ireland 2040. Officials from my Department and the HEA continue to have regular engagement with Waterford IT and IT Carlow in relation to future campus development plans. This is key to the wider strategy for the future TU for the South East.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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654. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students attending Waterford Institute of Technology, WIT, and IT Carlow in each of the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, by institute; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9513/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The enrolment data for Institute of Technology Carlow and Waterford Institute of Technology for the 3 most recent academic years is outlined in the attached table. The information for the academic year 2020/21 will be available later this year.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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655. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the capital funding provided to each institute of technology and technological university in each of the years 2010 to 2020; the allocation earmarked for 2021, by institute, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9514/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Project Ireland 2040 signals an envelope of €2.2 billion for investment in higher education infrastructure over the period 2018-2027.

This is in addition to infrastructure to be delivered by way of Public Private Partnership (PPP), including the Central and East Quads for TU Dublin at Grangegorman and the Higher Education PPP programme which is focused on Technological Universities/Institutes of Technology.

Attached below are details of the capital spend (including Devolved Grant funding) in respect of Institutes of Technology and TU Dublin for the period 2010 to 2020.

In respect of planned expenditure in 2021, it is not possible to be specific with regard to the level of funding to be provided to each institution. This is because the budget is managed at an overall level, with profiles regularly updated to take account of the rate of progress of individual projects through design, planning, procurement and construction. I can, however, advise that the overall 2021 higher education capital allocation is €98.4m.

It is important to note that there are projects approved or approved in principle which are moving through the pipeline and are therefore not captured in a review of past expenditure figures. I have attached details showing the progress of each approved project in the IoT and TU sector being funded by my Department.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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656. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if an application for the Connacht-Ulster Alliance of GMIT, LYIT and IT Sligo has been submitted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9537/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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A joint application under Section 29 of the Technological Universities Act 2019 has not been received to date from the Institutes of Technology comprising the Connacht Ulster Alliance TU development consortium. The Department understands that significant progress has been made in relation to the finalisation of an application, including intensive discussions with staff and students of the respective Institutes and wider stakeholders and that in this context an application is in view for submission in Quarter 1 of 2021. However, ultimately the finalisation and submission of an application remains a matter for the Institutes themselves. To date this consortium has received a total of Euros 11.6 million in Exchequer funding to advance its proposals, of which Euros 5.9 million was allocated under the first tranche of the Transformation Fund in October 2020.