There are calls for the Minister for Higher Education to meet with Councillors in Waterford about the Technological University for the South East.
The application for TU designation is expected to be submitted by WIT and IT Carlow at the end of April, however, a decision on where its headquarters will be will not be made until next year.
Independent Councillor Mary Roche says we need commitment instead of promises. She wants an invite to be extended to Minister Simon Harris as well as the President of WIT Willie Donnelly.
"I would like Mayor, with your permission, to ask that we would officially invite Willie Donnelly in to present to the council on the issue of the future configuration and the funding of WIT
"I would also ask that we would write to the Minister and invite him to a Zoom meeting, which in this day and age should be perfectly doable."
Councillor Mary Roche says all councillors want to support the university.
"We have been seeking a university now for decades. The then governing body submitted an application in 2005, that didn't get any further.
"We in Waterford, all want to be on board, this is something we all want to support.
"Without committed funding, without growth, there is no benefit to Waterford in a mere name change."
Mary Roche would like the Minister to confirm the funding arrangements for WIT to councillors.
"The capital investment that will be put on WIT so that we can get on board with the issue because merely putting the two colleges together in an unhappy marriage and not providing for that growth is no benefit.
"We saw with the loss of the South Eastern Hospital Group, even though University Hospital Waterford is actually a university hospital now, we saw that promises were not delivered on.
"Promises are not good enough at this stage, we need commitment and we need a demonstration of commitment at this stage.
"I think we need to hear from the Minister and from the college on this."
