Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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865. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the date the technological sector strategic projects fund was established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54712/23]

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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866. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the figure for the initial capitalisation of the technological sector strategic projects fund and the current capitalisation of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54713/23]

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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867. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if annual contributions are made to the technological sector strategic projects fund from the Exchequer; if so, the annual contributions to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54714/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 865 to 867, inclusive, together.

In February 2022, I announced the Technological Sector Strategic Projects Fund (TSSPF) a key capital funding programme which will strengthen the technological sector by supporting additional capacity and delivering core infrastructure improvements including research and innovation activity. This important capital investment will also support an ambitious transformation agenda including the strengthening of progression pathways from further education, realising the full potential of digital technologies and ensuring that our TU campuses are flexible and future-proofed.All TU’s and IOT’s were invited to submit up to three proposals for funding of works to existing buildings or new buildings under the TSSPF call. A total of 14 applications across the 7 eligible institutions were received. The assessment process consisted of two phases. Applications were initially evaluated and six projects were recommended to proceed following the submission of a Strategic Assessment Report (SAR). For these six projects which were successful at this stage, strategic and technical engagement took place with the HEA before the submission of a Preliminary Business Case. These business cases have now being fully evaluated and I am presently announcing those projects which have met the required criteria to be given approval to move to the next stage of the process which is to appoint a design team.

TSSPF was one of four new capital programmes which I launched in early 2022, that had a combined funding envelope of €450 million to 2025. The other programmes being the Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Fund and two programmes targeted at the Further Education and Training sector – The FET College of the Future Major Projects Fund and The Strategic Infrastructure Upgrade Fund. Annual contributions are not made to the overall fund available for these capital investment programmes. They are funded through the National Development Plan (NDP) and funding provision beyond 2025 will be considered in the context of the next NDP negotiations which are due to begin shortly.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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868. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if annual distributions are made to the sector (institutions); and, if so, the annual distributions (related to capital expenditure) to date, together with the recipients, in tabular form [54715/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My officials and I are working closely with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to realise our collective ambition for the delivery of Higher Education across the country. Rather than operating from an institution-specific annual distribution, capital projects across the Higher Education sector are identified through competitive processes, with successful projects progressing through the various stages of architectural planning, tender and construction in line with the provisions of the public spending code.

The revised National Development Plan (NDP) published in October 2021 provided clarity on Departmental capital ceilings for the period 2022 – 2025. Higher education capital funding is primarily organised on the basis of funding programmes, which have tailored parameters depending on the objectives that they seek to achieve.

The key Exchequer funding programmes to date include the following:- Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Fund - Higher Education Infrastructure Upgrade and Refurbishment Fund - Energy Efficiency and Decarbonisation Pathfinder Programme (co-funded with SEAI)- Apprenticeship Grant - Devolved Capital Grant- Technological Sector Strategic Projects Fund (TSSPF)

The Devolved Capital Grant is generally allocated to individual institutions in accordance with a model based primarily on student numbers, weighted by course type and mode of student.

The funding allocations under the co-funded Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Fund (HESIF) and the EEDPP 2020, 2021 and 2023 programmes were done by way of competitive call against set criteria outlined in the call documents. Applications were appraised by assessment teams under the terms and conditions that issued to institutions.

Feasibility Study Investment fund of €1m in 2023/2024 is also available to support the TU’s in conducting activation feasibility assessments to ascertain student accommodation needs in campus locations.