Ninth Level Ireland

“Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department and the Higher Education Authority will assist and support Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology as the last remaining institute of technology to join the Technological University through a section 38 of the Technological Universities Act 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 29 June]

“Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD has today (Thursday) announced details of the Science Foundation Ireland Frontiers for Partnership Awards programme, which aims through an investment of €9 million to increase research capacity within Technological Universities (TUs) and Institutes of Technology (IoTs) …” (more)

[MerrionStreet.ie, 15 April]

“Institutes of technology are seeking funding to create new posts dedicated to preventing and responding to sexual misconduct. It is recommended in a report from the Technological Higher Education Association (THEA) dealing with consent and the prevention of sexual violence in higher education institutions …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 15 March]

“Institutes of technology say they need €136m in State funding next year as the first slice of a three-year investment package of €534m. The Technological Higher Education Association (THEA) makes the case in a pre-Budget submission highlighting the critical role of the sector in regional development, in addressing disadvantage and in lifelong learning …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 28 September]

“David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of institutes of technology or technological universities currently running a deficit in tabular form; the plans in place by each institute to address the deficit; and if she will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 14 July]

“The Technological Higher Education Association (THEA) has announced that face coverings are compulsory for students and staff returning to Institutes of Technology in September. Many students will return to campuses that are quite different from those they left in March; however, THEA is the first third-level institution to implement this protective measure …” (more)

[Emma Hanrahan, College Tribune, 22 June]

“Students who first complete further education courses are significantly more likely to graduate from third-level degree courses, new research suggests. Solas, the umbrella body for the further education sector, says the latest data shows that up to 75% of students with a foundation in a Post-Leaving Cert (PLC) course who move on to higher education complete their degree …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 11 March]

“The next government is facing potentially more industrial unrest in schools as the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) on Tuesday said it expected its members to resoundingly back industrial action in a forthcoming ballot. About 450 second level schools as well as institutes of technology and centres of further education were closed on Tuesday as a result of a one-day stoppage by members of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) over lower pay arrangements for staff recruited since 2011 …” (more)

[Martin Wall and Sarah Burns, Irish Times, 4 February]

“President of Limerick Institute of Technology, Professor Vincent Cunnane, assumes the chair of THEA for the 50th anniversary year of Technological Higher Education in Ireland. The Technological Higher Education Association is the representative advocacy body for Ireland’s technological higher education institutions …” (more)

[Limerick Post, 2 January]

“The Minister of State with responsibility for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD today (1 January 2020) announced the granting of award making powers, with exception of doctoral awards, to all institutes of technology. In welcoming this announcement, the Minister said: ‘This is a significant step for the sector. The measures introduced today establishes all institutes of technology as autonomous awarding bodies, placing them on an equal footing with other designated awarding bodies such as the universities and the RCSI …'” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 1 January]

“The government today granted institutes of technology award-giving powers, in what amounts to a win for the autonomy of regional colleges. Institutes of technology will now be able to independently grant their students degrees, giving them equal rights to universities. The institutes won’t, however, be able to grant doctoral awards …” (more)

[Cormac Watson, University Times, 1 January]

“The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD and the Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD today announced €10 million funding in capital grants for the country’s 11 institutes of technology (IOT) and TU Dublin. The investment is being made under Project Ireland 2040 for the current academic year and the money will be used on small-scale and necessary infrastructure works and improvements …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 11 December]

“Twelve successful applicants representing Academic Institutions from across all regions have secured funding for their projects
Speaking ahead of a special Cabinet meeting on jobs in Trim, Co Meath, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD and Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD today announced the results of the Regional Technology Clustering Fund, the first annual competitive fund of its kind …” (more)

[DBEI, 6 December]

“Darragh O’Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of plans to establish funding mechanisms for institutes of technology to support the development of their student accommodation capacity …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 3 December]

“Darragh O’Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of steps to establish funding mechanisms for institutes of technology to support the development of their student accommodation capacity …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 20 November]

“Plans to create a technological university for the southeast have hit a new setback. While Waterford Institute of Technology and IT Carlow are preparing a joint bid to merge and become a technological university, staff at Carlow voted down the latest step in this process …” (more)

[Eoghan Dalton and Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 21 June]

“Sir, – If the news report on the National College of Art and Design’s new five-year strategy is accurate, it seems that the college will no longer prioritise the formation of painters, printmakers, sculptors and designers but instead educate people to address ‘climate change, digital transformation and automation’ …” (more)

[David McKenna, Irish Times, 21 June]

“Sir, – I read the report by Carl O’Brien on the 2020 QS World University Rankings with interest. I note particularly that institutes of technology are performing very well (‘Irish universities stay outside top 100 in world rankings’, News, June 19th) …” (more)

[Letters, Irish Times, 20 June]

“The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD, together with the Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD and Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation and Research and Development John Halligan TD today announced capital funding of more than €7.5 million for nine Institutes of Technology and the Technological University (TU) Dublin …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 3 June]

“David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the capital investment allocated to each institute of technology and university for the years 2019 to 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 23 January]