The Higher Education Minister has defended the government's academic investment in the South East in the past decade.
Minister Simon Harris responded to criticism of funding disparity by Waterford TD Matt Shanahan in the Dail.
The government are currently working on expanding the South East Technological University's footprint in Waterford ahead of its official opening this Monday.
Minister Harris says SETU is going to be transformative for this part of Ireland.
"The multi-campus South East Technological University, SETU, will be transformative for the south-east region. Addressing the economic and social needs of the south east is at the centre of its mandate building on the previous achievements which I want to herald of the Waterford Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology, Carlow. SETU provides a high quality multi-campus environment with a strong focus on science and technology programmes aligned with skills needs in the region and nationally."
Re-announcement
However, Independent TD for Waterford, Matt Shanahan - says anything being announced for the South East in terms of academics, is merely a re-announcement.
"It is now 11 years since Fine Gael promised Waterford a national university. It also promised this to the south east in 2011. Since that time, no investment has been made on the campus in Waterford Institute of Technology, WIT, despite the fact that the Government and the Higher Education Authority, HEA, blocked any developments and this ended up at the Committee for Public Accounts as well. The Minister told us that the technological university was the only show in town for many years and that it would be enough to meet the needs of our region and our young to set them up for professional achievement. I have had the benefit of the Minister’s formal answer, which I reviewed earlier. Basically what he is announcing is a reannouncement of an engineering building in 2007."
Deputy Shanahan queried why the people of the South East would believe the government's re-affirmations given failures of the past.
"I ask the Minister why the people of the south east should believe that this Government has any aspirations or desire to address the needs of higher education? I have asked the Minister a number of times about capital funding and the quantum and all he has said to me is there is a strong commitment and a breadth of ambition. That is all I have heard."
'Game on'
In response, the Higher Education Minister was defiant - and told Deputy Shanahan that he can 'misrepresent' him if he wishes, but it is firmly 'game on' for the South East Technological University.
"The people of the south east can believe us because we are delivering. The Deputy can decide whether or not to get on board with that but we are delivering. There is a technological university in the south east. Job done. The staff and the students voted for it. Veronica Campbell, the former bursar of Trinity College Dublin, is the president, and Paddy Prendergast, the former provost of Trinity College Dublin, is chairing the governing authority. It is going really well. There is an excitement in Waterford and in the south east. There is an excitement across the political divide, by the way, whether one is in the Sinn Féin Party, the Fine Gael Party, Fianna Fáil Party or the Green Party. They are all getting on board and welcoming this university. That has happened. The staff and the students voted for it and there is cross-party support for it. It is game on. The Deputy can misrepresent my answer if he wishes."
Minister Harris also wished to address 'naysayers' and outlined how SETU is 'unique' with regards to capital funding at present.
"There is not another university in the country that has a separate commitment above and beyond competitive calls to expand the footprint in its city. I know that because I have access to the capital budget and there is not another one. I am not going to outline on the floor of the Dáil how we are going to negotiate commercially securing various things. As a member of the Committee of Public Accounts, the Deputy knows how these processes work. We are investing in Waterford and the south east. The naysayers are wrong. South East Technological University is now there and was delivered by this Government."
'Never a need'
Deputy Shanahan quipped that there was never a need for the government to buy any further land for the campus here in Waterford - despite this morning's announcement that formal negotiations are underway for the acquirement of the former Waterford Crystal site on the Cork Road.
"I might remind the Minister there was never a need to buy additional land in Waterford. We already had three sites with planning permission that could have been developed. I have seen how Government can walk through walls since I have come in here. I saw it when Deputy McHugh moved forward the public private partnership, PPP, for the Munster Technological University MTU. I have seen two buildings now delivered at €106 million each to University College Cork, UCC, and another €56 million given to the MTU in Cork and nothing done in the south east at this time. The Minister has no problem committing dozens of millions of euro to other projects, but not to Waterford."
"I have asked for nearly two years what we will get out of this. Essentially, the Minister is signalling his intent all the time. Expectations are very high now in Waterford, largely because the Minister has raised them, to be fair. If the Minister comes down next week with the Tánaiste and if the breadth of their ambition is not €250 million over three years, as I said before, then they will not do anything to halt a brain drain. The Minister is creating no exceptionalism for this and will have broken promises, yet again, to the people of Waterford and the south east. I hope that will not happen, but I think it may. I do not sense any great commitment here, to be honest, or any straight answers that we can expect that quantum of money."
'Fed up'
In conclusion, Minister Harris told the Dail that he is 'fed up' being misrepresented on SETU by Deputy Shanahan, and called on the Waterford TD to be more positive.
"I ask the Deputy for a little degree of positivity. For the first time in the history of Waterford, people in Waterford city can get a university degree. People in Waterford county and in the south east, the Industrial Development Authority, IDA, Enterprise Ireland and even Sinn Féin, with respect to it, believe in it. The Opposition and the Government have come together on this. However, it does not work for the Deputy politically and we wish him well. I am very clear on this issue and I am fed up with being misrepresented on it. We will expand the footprint. If the Deputy does not believe that we need to expand the footprint, that is a difference of a political view."
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