Technological Universities

161. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for a full update on the progress of the Wexford campus of the South East Technological University; the status of the master plan for the campus; if student accommodation will form a part of the proposal; when construction is likely to commence on this campus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72191/26]

The Deputy has a long-standing interest in this matter. I am sure Deputy Ó Súilleabháin has as well. There was mention of it already. The Minister, Deputy Browne, is also very invested in it. I am sure all the Wexford representatives are keen to see this project deliver at pace, as am I. That is one of the reasons that, shortly after assuming this role, I went to Wexford and met the officials involved with my team. Just before December of last year I announced this was moving ahead at full speed. The update I can share with House is that the business case has been submitted by SETU, as the lead delivery entity in this, supported by Wexford ETB. That was approved by the SETU board and has been lodged with us in the past couple of days. That is significant progress, because it allows us to start looking at the delivery plan. That business case is being reviewed by the Higher Education Authority. As I said, it has been signed off on by the governing authority of SETU and the ETB, which is a major milestone on moving ahead with the project. The Deputy probably knows more about it than I do from his time on the council, but I walked the land, inspected the site and it is moving forward. It is a priority. On student accommodation, my understanding is that the business case submitted includes any proposal for student accommodation. If the bodies wish to revisit that at a later stage, they are welcome to do so. However, this is primarily focused on a learning centre. It will probably be the first tertiary, end-to-end educational campus in Ireland to offer apprenticeships, further education, SETU undergraduate degrees and, potentially, research opportunities and PhD courses on a single site. It will be an end-to-end tertiary campus just on the edge of Wexford town. As I said, I visited the site. What is happening there is really exciting. It is really positive, and I will be keeping shoulder to the wheel to move it forward in the time ahead.

I thank the Minister for his comments. He is correct that this is an issue for me and others in Wexford. The funding was made available to IT Carlow for the purchase of a site in Wexford in 2015, so progress has been quite slow. However, we are progressing well now. On 11 January 2023, I, as cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, signed the CPO process. To be fair, the county council has driven this. No other council in the country was in a position where it had to use a CPO in order to make provision for a third level entity. I am disappointed to hear that accommodation does not form part of the business case. For a town like Wexford, which we hope will have a large number of students descending upon it, not having accommodation available is regrettable. Will the Minister look into adding such accommodation?

I will certainly involve myself in the process to move it ahead, give it a bit of additional impetus and accelerate progress. That has resulted in the notice to entry being served, the site becoming available and the business case being formulated jointly by SETU and the ETB. As stated, in the past few days the business case was submitted to the HEA, which is responsible for allowing it to proceed. It includes a very significant ambition in terms of the tertiary campus I mentioned. On student accommodation, in reply to earlier questions I mentioned the strategy that is being rolled out on a phased basis. Colleges are being invited to submit sites for consideration as part of that process. That is currently live in Dublin, Cork and Galway. A number of sites on campuses have been identified by the colleges and are subject to expressions of interest. More broadly, we are also inviting private landowners in the vicinity of colleges to come forward. It is in Dublin, Cork and Galway at present. It will be in Limerick, Athlone and Waterford next and will then be extended throughout the country. I have no doubt that Wexford will be a major part of that process in due course. If the relevant agencies want to submit sites, they are welcome to do so.

It is great to hear that we are making progress. It has taken a long time, but we are driving this forward. There is a lot of land available at the site in question. The campus will not take up the bulk of it. It is imperative, therefore, that we future-proof this and access some of the land that is available in order to build student accommodation. We are delighted that this campus will be constructed, and it is great to hear that the business case has been submitted. Wexford is one of the most populous counties in the country. We are heading for 180,000 people. That is many more than live in Carlow or Waterford, yet the relevant entities in the latter are the overarching bodies within SETU. Wexford needs this campus. It also needs to be future-proofed in order that it might grow. I know the site well. The area of Killeens is very close to where I live. There is a lot of land available there and the campus, as the Minister says, will not as it stands take up a large portion of it. This means there is a possibility for us to strike now and include accommodation within it.

Again, I am open to any proposals that SETU or Wexford ETB want to submit. There is an appetite, certainly on my part, to support them in any proposals or vision they may have. I am aware there are other plans for the campus with Wexford County Council and other stakeholders looking at wider infrastructure pieces there. I suspect other buildings may be decanted as part of this development as it comes on stream. That will create opportunities for educational buildings to be repurposed, possibly for student accommodation or other centres of learning, other training or whatever else. I know the people involved in the ETB and SETU. They are people of ambition and substance, and I have no doubt they will want to get the best possible provision for students in the Wexford area. I will certainly work with them to keep the project moving forward, as I have done already.