Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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609. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the additional funding, current and capital, that will accompany technological university status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24361/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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On foot of the 2019 TURN report, Budget 2020 provided for new Technological University Transformation Fund of€90 million (over 3 years 2020- 2023), to assist the development and progression of TUs. The Transformation Fund supersedes the previous Higher Education Landscape Fund under which some €31 million was provided to advance TU proposals. Funding allocated under the Transformation Fund will support the implementation of relevant TURN report recommendations.

On 7 October 2020, I announced the first allocations of €34.33m under the Transformation Fund (details of allocations attached).

In terms of 2021 Transformation Fund allocations the Higher Education Authority (HEA) which administers the Fund is currently considering submissions from relevant Higher Education Institutions received at the end of Quarter 1 including in the context of progress achieved to date on 2020 funded projects and multi-annual budgeting requirements under the Fund.

My Department and the HEA are also seeking to draw down additional funding through the European Regional Development Fund and National Recovery and Resilience Plan in synergy with the Transformation Fund and in advancement of the ongoing implementation of relevant TURN report recommendations.

In line with the TURN report, Government also continues to support significant capital investment in TUs and Institutes of Technology making up consortia seeking TU designation that major capital investment in the higher education sector is envisaged under Project Ireland 2040. A significant element of this investment is earmarked for the technological university sector.

For example, the Central and East Quads were recently completed for the TU Dublin campus at Grangegorman, facilitating the transfer of 10,000 students to the new campus. A number of other relevant large capital projects are also in the pipeline including the Higher Education PPP programme which will deliver 10 major campus buildings in established and proposed TUs in the coming years. Other capital funding which continues to support infrastructure development in Institutes of Technology and TUs includes the Higher Education Refurbishment and Upgrade Fund which is targeted at upgrading existing building stock; the expanded Devolved Grant scheme which paid €20m to the TU/IoT sector in 2020 and co-funded projects which are delivering major buildings in the TU Dublin Tallaght Campus and IT Sligo, part of the Connacht Ulster Alliance seeking TU designation. The result of this investment is that every main TU campus location will have at least one major building project supported by Exchequer funding within the next four years.

Table 1: Exchequer Transformation Fund allocations 2020