As I advised in an earlier response, given the passage of time, both the projects and the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have evolved. You will also be aware, there have been a number of mergers of Institutes of Technology to form Technological Universities. Projects in HEIs are generally institution led with a high level of autonomy for each institution to change their priorities as they see fit.
The list provided included all major capital projects which had, in one form or another, been presented to the Department. This list was very broad and included projects at the very early stage of development, which over the passage of time and with the further development of the institutions masterplans, have changed. Many of the projects outlined at the time have changed and this is in line with the changes in demand within the wider economy and the demand for courses from students. Certain project names have changed and some of the projects have been integrated into new projects.
HEIs are required to comply with all relevant Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDR) guidelines including the Public Spending Code (PSC) updated in 2019 and 2023. The PSC sets out the requirements for evaluating, planning and managing public capital investment. It outlines the project lifecycle which includes steps, activities and decision gates which are necessary for the evaluation of a capital investment.
The Department is not in a position to provide a detail of the date of each decision gate, the project budget at each decision gate, the overall cost of any completed projects and the overall financial disbursement from voted expenditure from the Department in respect of each completed project as some of these projects are subject to commercial sensitivity given their stage in the procurement process and for the reasons outlined above. In many cases the overall project cost would be a matter for the respective HEI. Many of the projects are co-funded by this Department, other Government Departments and Agencies and HEIs themselves, but the direct management of the projects resides with the HEIs, with oversight from the HEA and my Department.
It would not be possible for my Department to provide the requested information as, due to the passage of time, both the projects and the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have evolved, project names have changed and project requirements have been integrated into new projects.
