2026-07-02

81. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to carry out a full review of the technological universities to ensure that they are reaching the targets set out for them when they were established. [49642/26]

Will the Minister carry out a full review of technological universities to ensure that they are reaching the targets set out for them when they were established?

Advancing the technological university, TU, and institute of technology, IoT, sector is a major priority for Government, and for me. This is evidenced by significant targeted investment over many years and demonstrates our commitment to balanced regional development, building research and innovation capacity and with it, Ireland’s global competitiveness, all while increasing access to university education for more students and delivering it on a regional basis as the TUs are doing. My Department has provided extensive funding and support to aid the TUs that are undergoing extensive and complex transformation programmes. Most recently, I announced allocations of up to €65.8 million under the targeted enhancement fund, TEF, to support the continued transformation and strategic development of higher education institutions in the technological sector and publicly funded specialist colleges. That TEF funding is to enhance that offering in terms of capabilities and everything from information technology, IT, systems to project management and human resources management, and make sure they are fully strengthened and given the capacity-building supports they require. At this point, legacy management structures in the IoTs, have transitioned to new cross-campus executive university management structures in four of the five TUs. The predecessors in the IoTs have been amalgamated into cross-campus executive teams. The final one, South East Technological University, SETU, is in transition and is currently being assessed. These roles are critical in supporting the TUs to deliver the strategic missions. Additionally, I expect to see further progression now that I have sanctioned a new professor grade for TUs, which I secured Cabinet approval for just last December. That will support the TUs in their engagement, education, research and innovation capacities. I have also distributed over €223 million in capital funding to the sector across a variety of programmes over the past term, and I continue to work on the metrics under the TU Act, working towards the ambitions to make sure they are an absolute success.

I am not sure if the Minister is familiar with the recent report published by two Munster Technological University researchers. When asked if Irish TUs are failing, they concluded that the Irish TU project has been characterised by financial pressure, the death of regional provision in higher education, mission drift and confused policymaking, and that it has failed to meet any key targets. I acknowledge a lot of this was carried out before the Department of further and higher education was even established but it is still important to reflect on the success or failure of the concept. Reading the report, the Higher Education Authority, HEA, was set on forcing IoT mergers through impoverishment of smaller institutions, and that there was a drop of 38% in State funding. Academic staff issues were largely ignored. There was very little meaningful engagement. In their applications for TU designation, all consortia stated that they expected increased student numbers and all except Technological University Dublin, TUD, stated that they expected an extra increase over the short term due to TU designation but this bounce never came to pass.

I am aware of the report. I have read it. I should say that has not yet been peer reviewed. It is a draft report by two academics in, I think, Tralee that is in circulation . I am open to all feedback and suggestions, but I add the caveat that it has not yet been peer reviewed. Other academics I have spoken to do not think it will pass the peer review process, but that is open-ended. It is a curious report in many ways. One of the claims it contains is to the effect that the planned amalgamation between Dundalk Institute of Technology, DKIT, and Queen's University Belfast is a system failure. I find that quite extraordinary, because I think that is a great, ambitious and exciting all-island university project. It depends where you are coming from and I think those academics may have a particular axe to grind. They are entitled to have that - it is their prerogative - but I certainly would not share all of the report's findings. There may be hitting some points but I think it is a curious perspective they have taken. More generally, I would say that TUs are not failing. The number of students, including research students, at the TUs continues to grow. There might be ups and downs, as in any sector, but, widely, they are growing, and they certainly they continue to invest. We have a number of exciting, new courses. For example, the new professional veterinary course will be offered in both Atlantic Technological University, ATU, and South East Technological University, SETU, from this September. I might come back on this point in the next round. There are many new courses coming on stream.

As I said, this all started before this Department was created but there are a few outstanding questions. There is a difference in the salaries of TU graduates compared with those from the university sector. A total of €363 million was spent. Does the Minister think that represents value for money? The Minister talked about research students, but there is a difference in this regard. Smaller institutions seem to be losing out while the larger ones seem to be gaining in some cases. That causes implications for the balance of power within the university sector and poses significant challenges to regional provision. There are questions around fees for consultants. It is a massive issue, particularly when some consultants were appointed outside the procurement process. Some of them were former senior Government authorities, appointed to the very institutions they were responsible for regulating. A report on the whole needs to be looked at.

I am always open to feedback. The academics and authors of that report are entitled to their views, as are others. I just do not share all of their conclusions. As the Deputy said, the consultant spending was before my time. A lot of it was before the Department even existed. The TU sector on the whole has been an enormous success, however. We now have TUs up and down the country. We have regional universities in Letterkenny, Tralee and Waterford, places which never had university status before. There are many other locations as well. It is exciting for those regional areas and towns and their hinterlands. I mentioned the veterinary course in ATU. That means that we now have veterinary students coming through from Donegal, Sligo and the north west who do not have to travel to Dublin or, even worse, Poland for their professional education. I was in Waterford recently launching the new SEAM lab, which is a material science facility as part of SETU. It will engage in exciting, leading-edge and enterprise-focused research. The TUs have been a tremendous success already, providing world-class university education in the regions, along with investment in research. In respect of reviews, spending controls etc. the HEA has commissioned a review of both the technological university transformation fund, TUTF, and the technological sector advancement fund, TSAF. There are reports under way. We always have to ensure we are getting value for money, spending competitively and getting resources to meet our approach.