Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 March 2022
62. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his attention has been drawn to plans to develop a college campus on the northside of Cork city. [12727/22]
View answerI have not been made aware of any plans to develop a campus on the north side of Cork city. However, my Department is willing to work collaboratively with higher education institutions on the development of capital projects in line with their established masterplans.
It is a priority for my Department to support higher education institutions and Education and Training Boards - including University College Cork (UCC), Munster Technological University (MTU), and Cork Education and Training Board - in their critical role as drivers of social and economic development in their regions. Funding for capital works is generally distributed through SOLAS to ETBs and through the HEA to higher education institutions in the form of project-specific grants or devolved grant type funding.
My Department is currently supporting a number of major capital projects in Cork city, including a new Learning Resource Centre on the MTU Cork Campus, which is part of the Higher Education Public Private Partnership Programme, and a major upgrade project to the 1970s Building on the MTU Cork Campus Bishopstown.
UCC is also approved in principle for funding of €25 million under the first phase of the Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Fund to co-fund a custom built Business School building in Cork city centre.
Existing Further Education and Training provision on the north side of Cork city includes a range of programmes delivered by Cork ETB at levels 2-4 through what was previously referred to as “City North campus”, part of Terrence MacSweeney Community College. Additional courses are delivered in partnership with Northside Community Enterprise and other community providers on the north side of Cork city.
