Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 May 2021
90. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the plans in place for development at Letterkenny Institute of Technology, LYIT; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26714/21]
View answerI will take Deputy Pringle's question and, with the Minister's permission, I will incorporate aspects of a question of my own on the same issue. Deputy Pringle asked about the plans in place for the development of LYIT. That is, obviously, in the context of the submission from the Connacht-Ulster Alliance, which includes Sligo IT, the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, GMIT, and LYIT. I ask the Minister for the most up-to-date timeline as to what is happening.
I thank the Deputy and acknowledge her support and advocacy for the importance of a technological university for the north west, an issue that is also of concern to Deputy Conway-Walsh. I need to be careful in what I say because I understand a ballot of the Teachers' Union of Ireland, TUI, is about to conclude but, without pre-empting any outcomes of any ballots, I am hopeful that I will shortly receive an application for a technological university for the north west, the Connacht-Ulster Alliance application, in the coming days. A massive amount of work has been undertaken. If and when I receive the application, I will publicly acknowledge receipt of it. I would then propose to meet all Oireachtas Members from the region within the coming days on an all-party basis. Let us wait and see when the application comes in. It is up to the consortium to submit the application. When it arrives, I will note that publicly and will then move, in the following days, to meet with Oireachtas Members from the region to update them on that and the next steps. A very specific and prescribed number of actions must be taken when an application comes in. Ultimately, the Minister of the day receives the application and an international, independent panel is appointed to assess the application. We have a template now because we have gone through this process a few times. That is the current and most up-to-date position.
To respond specifically to Deputy Pringle's inquiries regarding Letterkenny, I am pleased to inform him that there are three Exchequer-funded projects in the pipeline which will significantly enhance higher education infrastructure at the LYIT and support the development of the planned new technological university for the west and north west. Refurbishment and upgrade works to the main LYIT building on the Killybegs campus have been approved and are under way, with phases 1 and 2 of the project complete. Phase 3 is expected to be on-site early this summer. The upgrade work will support the long-term sustainability of the Killybegs campus. A major new library, ICT and education building is also planned. LYIT was one of the eight institutions approved in 2020 to progress a project under the energy efficiency and decarbonisation pathfinder programme.
I thank the Minister. That was a lot of information in two minutes. As he said, we are in the final stages. The TUI is voting at the moment and nobody wants to pre-empt the result of that ballot but we can all be hopeful that we will have white smoke, perhaps by tonight or tomorrow morning. It is my understanding that the three governing bodies will meet tomorrow to submit their application, if we have that approval from the TUI.
I will ask the Minister a question in the context of St. Angela's College. Assuming the application from the alliance goes ahead, we have a memorandum of understanding between Sligo IT and St. Angela's. Can the Minister give any indication as to when he would be in a position to give his approval to the incorporation of St. Angela's into Sligo IT? Part of the submission of the Connacht-Ulster Alliance includes the possibility of St. Angela's merging with Sligo IT.
I am certainly not being coy about the timeline for the application and what the Deputy has said tallies with what I know but I want to be respectful of the process. As soon as we receive the application, we will move quickly.
I have had some excellent meetings with representatives of St. Angela's, including the president, and with the president of Sligo IT and others. I welcome the close work that is going on between the two institutions. Quite frankly, I think St. Angela's has been left hanging for far too long. It is important to me that St. Angela's is incorporated. It is clear to me that there are synergies between Sligo IT and St. Angela's. The specific timeline for when that happens is a matter for the institutions and, ultimately, the technological university. I have provided a lot of assistance and engagement with officials. I would like to see it happen. Whether it can happen before the technological university is designated is a matter for those on the ground. I have no difficulty if it does and, in fact, would very much welcome it if it can happen. As I have said previously, nothing is going to stop or delay the advancement of the technological university and I know that is a view also shared by St. Angela's. I am happy for them to get on with it, quite frankly, and I know they are working extremely hard on that matter.
I thank the Minister for saying there will be a cross-party approach that will include all Oireachtas Members from the area. Everyone is on the same footing here. Everybody recognises the considerable potential that the Connacht-Ulster Alliance could realise for the region.
The Minister said that he cannot be clear on the timelines with regard to St. Angela's, and I understand that. However, it is positive to hear that the Minister feels that St. Angela's has a role to play and can be a part of the technological university.
Without wanting to raise any concerns, I have one final issue to address. If we have a situation where not all three campuses vote in favour of the new technological university, is it possible that two can go ahead with a submission? Has this happened in the south east? I am not sure about that. I am not asking the Minister what will happen, I am simply asking what is possible.
I will be careful in answering that question because of the sensitivities involved. Staff engagement and buy-in to these processes are vital. The Deputy is factually correct that, in the south east, the TUI ballot did not pass in Waterford but did pass in Carlow and the application was still submitted by the consortium. That would, ultimately, be a decision for the governing authorities as it relates to any technological university. That is an open question. We will certainly proceed on a cross-party basis. It has been key to the success and delivery of these projects and I worked extremely closely with people throughout the country on a cross-party basis and I thank the Deputy for taking that approach in the north west.
I thank the Minister for his commitment to working on a cross-party basis on this issue. I highlight the potential around GMIT in Castlebar, next door to Mayo University Hospital. We talked earlier about the need to train more medical students, linking up with Magee campus, the New Decade, New Approach agreement, the shared island unit and the programme for Government, and the potential for training medical students across the west and the north west.
I am committed to the GMIT campus in Castlebar. Under this plan for a technological university for the north west, Castlebar will become a university town and that is a massive prize for the people of Castlebar and County Mayo. It will be important for regional growth and development, and perhaps also for keeping young people in the regions.
The Government has given a commitment, under New Decade, New Approach, to the Magee campus, as has the British Government. Being honest, we now need concrete proposals as to what that will look like. I have had some engagements with Magee, Ulster University, the British ambassador and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Those engagements are continuing and as soon as the Covid-19 scenario allows, I look forward to visiting the North and the north west and talking about those synergies.
We have seen how it can work in so many areas. It needs to work in higher education too.
