James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 885, 887 and 891 together.

I propose to take questions, PQs 27318 , 27320, and 27357, together.

I wish to begin by stating that my Department continues to support all five Technological Universities, in line with our commitments towards the sector under the Programme for Government.

Advancing Technological University Reforms

To support the ongoing development of the sector and enable TUs to advance on institutional reforms, my Department has made significant funding available to this sector.

• €31 million under the HE Landscape Fund between 2013/14 and 2019/20, which was aimed at supporting the establishment and expansion of TUs.
• €90 million under the Technological Universities Transformation Fund between 2020/21 and 2022/23, which was used to provide financial support for the TUs in their establishment phase.
• The ongoing Technological Sector Advancement Fund, which makes €50 million available for the technological sector to support the consolidation phase.

A new phase of this structural support funding will be activated by my Department and the HEA with a call for proposals to be issued in the coming weeks.

In addition to the above, DFHERIS has secured €83.68 million under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to 2027. This significant investment is being allocated under the TU RISE (Research & Innovation Supporting Enterprise) fund to support Technological Universities in delivering their strategic missions whilst increasing research capacity and infrastructure.

In addition to funding as described above, the HEA in accordance with the System Performance Framework 2023-2028 has developed Performance Agreements with the TUs, under which the HEA can measure and assess the strategic performance of a TU via an annual cycle of reporting against the agreement and Strategy and Performance Dialogue. In conjunction with the System Performance Framework, this provides TUs with a flexible mechanism to identify performance objectives that are aligned to institutional strategy and to address challenges and opportunities that may arise.

Recruitment of Senior Management Teams

With regard to your second question on senior management teams, I can confirm in January 2025, my Department secured approval for the phased recruitment of senior management teams in MTU, ATU and TUS. Those TUs are currently in the process of recruitment for these important appointments which will allow for the further integration of academic programmes across multi-campus locations.

Career Model Framework including professorships

During the establishment phase of the TUs the HEA, in consultation with DFHERIS, commissioned an OECD review on academic career structures, academic contracts and senior management and leadership structures in TUs. The resulting report published in 2022 provided recommendations on international best practice structures to inform TU development. DFHERIS supports reform based on the key recommendations of the report, which include the introduction of a new academic contract and a new career structure and the introduction of revised academic management and leadership structures.

As per the OECD recommendation, the grades envisaged in the new TU Academic Career Framework will align with those in previously existing universities:

- Assistant Lecturer - an early-stage academic role, with the post-holder responsible for delivering prime education duties and developing their initial research activity

- Lecturer - a more experience academic role, with additional responsibilities assigned and some research profile having been developed

- Senior Lecturer - a more senior role reflecting more extensive experience in education duties, with leadership responsibilities in teaching and learning practices and engagement in pedagogical/professional research

- Associate Professor - a leadership role in research with expectations of significant contribution to teaching and learning activities in the university

- Professor - the most senior role in the academic career framework, with an expectation for a substantial reputation in research; major contributor to teaching and learning innovation and delivery; and contributor to the development of a particular discipline across a range of metrics

The current focus is on the introduction of the professor grade to the TUs as a first step. My Department has undertaken significant engagement with the relevant stakeholders and staff representatives on this matter to actively progress the introduction of the professor grade in TU's as a matter of priority. I look forward to sharing more on this matter in the coming months.