€2m funding boost for South East University
A dedicated funding package of €2m for a Technological University of the South East (TUSEI) has been broadly welcomed, with the president of IT Carlow saying that the third level project can now move onto the next level.
Overall €11.8 million in funding was allocated to technological universities in a funding announcement from the Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh TD and Minister of State with responsibility for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD.
Also in budget 2020, €90 million in funding was allocated in support of Technological Universities for the period to 2022.
With Wexford currently playing host to a small IT Carlow Campus on Summerhill, the county looks set to be included in this plan.
Although the IT Carlow board have publicly stated their intention to build a new state of the art Wexford campus on several occasions, so far efforts have fallen short. Deals for the IT to purchase lands at both Newtown Road and Ferrybank in Wexford collapsed, leading to some strong criticism and questions of how committed
IT Carlow were to making the project happen, not least of all from Labour leader Brendan Howlin and Mayor of Wexford George Lawlor.
Cllr Lawlor had also brought another option to IT Carlow representatives in the form of the large Slaney Manor site in Barntown, however, they failed to act.
With the latest funding, President of IT Carlow Dr Patricia Mulcahy says the TUSEI project can move to the next level.
‘ This funding comes at a critical time for the TUSEI project,’ she said. ‘It will enable us to move to the next stage in institutional change - further mobilisation of our 1,900 staff, our 17,000 students and our many stakeholders, in support of important integration activity.
‘ This is an essential part of our journey towards a unitary multi-campus technological university of scale and impact, within the regional, national and international context. We thank Minister McHugh and Minister Mitchell O’Connor for their continued support.’
President of WIT, Prof Willie Donnelly, echoed Dr Mulcahy’s comments saying: ‘ Together with all our stakeholders across the region, we are impatient for the delivery of a much-needed university for the south east, a critical element in delivering on the government’s ambitions for the region as set out in Project Ireland 2040 and absolutely essential to secure the economic future of the region.’
Whether the latest funding announcement will see developments in the model county will remain to be seen.