Vol. 575 No. 5
115 Mr. O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Science the effect of the cutbacks on the Dundalk Institute of Technology building and expansion programme; and the reason the college must continue to spend ?150,000 renting a building (details supplied) while another building (details supplied) which was purchased for ?17 million lies idle and cannot be fitted out due to Government cutbacks. [28705/03]
In November 2002, I announced a pause on all capital developments in the third level sector. I decided that it was prudent to re-evaluate and review the overall position with regard to third level capital projects and to establish priorities for future years. A review group, under the Higher Education Authority, was established and commenced its work in mid-May 2003. It was originally expected that the group would report to the Higher Education Authority not later than 31 October 2003. However, due to the complexity of the task in hand, the group is currently revisiting the timeframe for reporting to the HEA. When the group has completed its report, the authority will advise me of its views.
The purchase price for the building in question did not relate solely to the building but also included some 45 acres of land. Some minor refurbishment has already been carried out on the building which enables its partial use by Dundalk Institute of Technology. However, the institute's plans for the major refurbishment and development of this building, at an estimated cost of €13 million, formed part of its submission to the review group. Each third level institution has met the group and made a presentation of its institutional strategy and set the capital development proposals in a strategic context. Decisions on the refurbishment of the building in question at the institute will be contingent on the outcome of the review and the level of funding available for the sector. In the interim, the institute has rented some temporary accommodation off campus.
