Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 March 2024
807. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science when he expects the new UCC dental school project to begin construction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10774/24]
View answerUCC is an autonomous body established under statute. As an autonomous body, it is a matter for UCC to prioritise its capital projects accordingly and the expenditure of the University’s income (public and private) is a matter for the individual institution and this includes responsibility for ensuring appropriate policies and procedures are in place to oversee the use of its resources.
In terms of prioritisation, there have been two rounds of capital funding made available to Higher Level Institutions under the Higher Education Strategic Investment Fund (HESIF) in recent years. Each institute was permitted to submit one project per funding round under HESIF. UCC chose to lodge applications for the Business School and for an upgrade to the Kane Building, both of which have been successful and have received €50 million in direct exchequer funding from this Department.
The Higher Education Authority recently undertook an Expressions of Interest (EOI) process to identify options for developing substantial medium-term additional capacity in a range of priority healthcare disciplines including Dentistry. In June 2023 the Minister for Health and I announced details of the potential options identified under this process. I continue to engage closely on this matter with Government colleagues to advance the process, with investment to be considered in the context of the ongoing review of Departmental National Development Plan allocations to 2030.
