Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 May 2022
533. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the details of the prioritisation exercise for capital expenditure and capital project approval process for all Higher Education Authority-funded higher education institutions in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27430/22]
View answerThe revised National Development Plan (NDP) provides for Exchequer investment of nearly €2.9 billion in further and higher education infrastructure, research and innovation over the five-year period 2021–2025.
This is in addition to infrastructure to be delivered by way of the Higher Education PPP programme Public Private Partnership (PPP), which is focused on Technological Universities/Institutes of Technology.
Higher education capital funding is mainly organised on the basis of funding programmes, which have tailored parameters depending on the objectives that they seek to achieve. Capital investment is an enabler of wider sectoral objectives and there is therefore close alignment between policy priorities and capital investment decisions.
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
- The funding allocations under the co-funded Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Fund (HESIF) and the EEDPP 2020 and 2021 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.
The Apprenticeship Grant funding requirements in the higher education sector are identified following HEA engagement TUs and IoTs in relation to available capacity and expansion potential and a joint submission (from the HEA and SOLAS) is submitted to the Department. Once funding is allocated for the higher education sector, it is the responsibility of the HEA to prioritise and manage that funding, in accordance with conditions set down by the Department.
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.
In February of this year, my Department launched the next phase of capital investment in the higher education sector. Higher Education Institutions were invited to apply for funding for capital projects under two new programme calls - Technological Sector Strategic Projects Fund (TSSPF) & Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Fund (HESIF) II.
The TSSPF will support additional capacity, upgrading and enhancement of current infrastructure, including research and innovation activity across the IOT and TU sector. It will be open to 100% funding of capital projects. TSSPF will involve a two-stage assessment process, commencing with an assessment of the strategic rationale which is expected to be completed by mid-June, if approved at this stage, moving on to development of a detailed business case.
The Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Fund (HESIF II) was launched with the objective of delivering high quality higher education infrastructure within HEIs which will deliver a major strategic impact for Ireland's future skills needs. HEIs can apply for up to 50% of the total project costs to a maximum of €25m, with the balance of funding to be secured by HEIs. The evaluation of the applications has just recently commenced.
