Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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103. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the dates on which each of the five stages that he referenced with respect to the administrative process in a higher-education policy debate concerning the aspiration to expand the footprint of South East Technological University Waterford in Seanad Éireann on 14 September 2022, were met with respect to the past 10 such projects that have completed all stages in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46171/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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All capital projects advanced by publicly funded Higher Education Institutions must comply with the provisions of the Public Spending Code, while site acquisitions must also be conducted in accordance with relevant guidance from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

There can be considerable variation in the time it takes to move a property acquisition through the approval stages, taking account of complexity, cost, valuation, identified risks and other site-specific issues and developments.

Since the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was established in 2020, there has been one site acquisition completed in the technological sector. This was by GMIT (now Atlantic Technological University) in Galway. I would refer the Deputy to my response to PQ45512 of 20 September 2022 in relation to the key milestones relating to that acquisition.