Ninth Level Ireland

“The creation of Ireland’s newest university through the merger of Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and Institute of Technology Tralee (ITT) will play a crucial part in the national recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. Education Minister Joe McHugh has now been given clarifying details on the proposed Munster Technology University (MTU) merger by the consortium partners which aims to keep Ireland at the forefront of global technology, engineering excellence and world class research and development …” (more)

[Ralph Riegel, Independent, 2 April]

“Students of the Institute of Technology Tralee will not be sitting end of semester exams this summer. It’s revealed in a letter issued to students today by Acting Vice President of Academic Affairs and Registrar, Aileen Kennedy …” (more)

[Radio Kerry, 31 March]

“Members of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland have served notice of industrial action in relation to the establishment of the Munster Technological University. The MTU involves the merging of the Institute of Technology, Tralee and Cork Institute of Technology …” (more)

[Radio Kerry, 13 March]

“The Chair of the Kerry branch of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland says members will be reluctantly taking to the picket line today. Over 400 members of the TUI in Kerry will strike today as part of an ongoing row with Government over what the union says is a two-tier pay system, which is discriminatory and unfair for new entrants …” (more)

[Radio Kerry, 4 February]

“A decision on IT Tralee’s proposed merger with CIT is due in the second quarter of this year. The Munster Technological University is the planned result of the merger between the two institutes, a process which was first mooted in 2009 …” (more)

[Radio Kerry, 26 January]

“IT Tralee’s planned purchase of a technology park was stopped on account of its financial situation. The information was revealed in documentation sent between the Institute of Technology Tralee and the Higher Education Authority in relation to finances in the third level institute …” (more)

[Radio Kerry News, 3 January]

“The HEA says IT Tralee has been running a deficit since 2013. The Higher Education Authority, which leads the strategic development of the higher education and research system, raised the issue of recurring deficits in a letter to the institute in 2015 …” (more)

[Radio Kerry, 19 December]

“The Department of Education says funding given to CIT will help deliver on the ambitions of the proposed MTU. The department has announced an investment of €18.7 million in the Cork Institute of Technology, to go towards building upgrades and refurbishment of its campus …” (more)

[Radio Kerry, 18 December]

“The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD and the Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD today announced an €18.75 million investment in Cork institute of technology. The funding is being allocated under Project Ireland 2040, which commits to exchequer investments of €2.2 billion in Ireland’s higher education infrastructure over the coming decade. The Department’s approval in principle for the €18.75 capital allocation will go towards significant building upgrades and refurbishment for CIT’s Bishopstown campus, built in 1974 …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 17 December]

“Institute of Technology Tralee students have passed a plebiscite on paying additional fees to use the new Kerry Sports Academy. On Monday, the college’s 3,500 students had the opportunity to vote on whether or not to accept a €95 annual charge for membership of the new academy …” (more)

[Radio Kerry News, 20 November]

“… In an update sent to staff and students of both colleges this week, which was seen by the Cork Independent, said that the project team is working towards a designation date of 1 September 2020 and that this is subject to a final decision by the Minister for Education and Skills …” (more)

[Niamh Aine Ryan, Cork Independent, 24 October]

“Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the mechanism by which a Cork Institute of Technology will not take on the debts of IT Tralee in the event that they merge to form a new university; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 15 October]

“The Minister for Education has assured Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) it will not have to take on IT Tralee’s debts in the event that they merge to form a new university for the Munster area. Rising deficits and cashflow problems at IT Tralee have been a key obstacle in the creation of a new Munster Technological University …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 7 October]

“The merging of CIT and IT Tralee has been officially postponed for at least six months by the Department of Education, the Cork Independent can reveal. Two letters were sent to the staff and students of both colleges on Tuesday. One was from the presidents of the colleges and the other was from Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh …” (more)

[Niamh Aine Ryan, Cork Independent, 2 October]

“The Institute of Technology Tralee will close at 5 o’clock tomorrow (Thursday) before the orange weather warning comes into effect …” (more)

[Radio Kerry News, 2 October]

“The Government has given €5 million in emergency funding to IT Tralee in order to keep the institution afloat. The Irish Times understands that Kerry’s only third-level institution has been experiencing serious cash-flow problems and faced the possibility of drastic cutbacks or not being able to pay staff …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 18 September]

“IT Tralee and CIT are confident the state will cover the remaining integration costs associated with their merger. The Munster Technological University is the planned result of the merger between the Institute of Technology Tralee and Cork Institute of Technology, a process which was first mooted in 2009 …” (more)

[Radio Kerry News, 30 August]

“Then Minister for Education Joe McHugh this week postponed the creation of Ireland’s second technological university until early 2020, alarm bells may have sounded for some in the higher education sector. For others, though, the news that Cork IT and IT Tralee are not yet ready to merge – despite provisional plans to do so this year – will have come as no surprise …” (more)

[University Times, 28 July]

“Government plans to award university status to institutes of technology may prove ‘problematic’ due to a lack of clarity over what constitutes research activity, according to an international panel of academics. The comment is contained in a report which found the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and IT Tralee only partially met the criteria required to secure university status. It is likely the bid will be reconsidered in six months …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 23 July]

“A decision on the long-awaited Munster Technological University, has been set back to early 2020 amid financial concerns and a ‘lack of clear vision and strategy’. A bid by Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and the Institute of Technology Tralee (ITT) seeking to become Munster’s first technological university ‘leaves questions unanswered regarding the specifics of how the two applicant institutions are to become one’, an independent review has found …” (more)

[Jess Casey, Irish Examiner, 23 July]