My officials and I are working closely with SETU to realise our collective ambition for the delivery of Higher Education across our South East region. Capital projects across the Higher Education sector are identified through competitive processes, with successful projects progressing through the various stages of architectural planning, tender and construction in line with the provisions of the public spending code.
The revised National Development Plan (NDP) published in October 2021 provided clarity on Departmental capital ceilings for the period 2022 – 2025. Higher education capital funding is primarily organised on the basis of funding programmes, which have tailored parameters depending on the objectives that they seek to achieve.
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
- Technological Sector Strategic Projects Fund (TSSPF)
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.
The funding allocations under the co-funded Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Fund (HESIF) and the EEDPP 2020, 2021 and 2023 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.
As the Deputy knows, my Department gave approval, subject to the required due diligence that has to be carried out, for South East Technological University to expand its presence in Waterford on the Waterford Crystal site. It is a significant milestone in the development of South East Technological University. The purchase of that site provides opportunities for the development and creation of a real enterprise quarter in Waterford that will benefit the university.
I am also very eager to make progress on the existing estate as regards our higher education energy efficiency and decarbonisation pathfinder programme. Two projects at SETU have been approved to advance through that programme. These are a deep fabric retrofit to the business school at SETU Waterford and a medium retrofit with a high-temperature, air source heat pump to the Burrin building at SETU Carlow. Both projects have received approval and a third project in SETU Waterford has been allocated capital funding to support the design development costs of a deep fabric retrofit with low Temperature Air Source Heat Pump of the Engineering and Science Building.
Feasibility Study Investment fund of €1m in 2023/2024 is also available to support the TU’s (including SETU) in conducting activation feasibility assessments to ascertain student accommodation needs in campus locations.
