At the Fine Gael Ard Fheis this morning Senator Paudie Coffey reaffirmed Fine Gael support for the University for the South East by stating that in terms of regional employment creation and job support the university level status of Waterford IT would be essential to helping the employment sector of the region return to successful operation.
The Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, has come out in support of the re-designation of Waterford IT as the university for the South East. The party leader stated that the case for Waterford was very strong and that both it and DIT should be successful in their proposal for university status.This is a much welcomed statement from the opposition leadership and comes at a time when the office of the Minister for Education and Science is analysing the applications made by WIT, DIT, and CIT for university designations.
This week the Irish Times published an article, depicting the rise of Irish universities in the world rankings. This article by the Irish Times was based on the QS SAFE - National System Strength Rankings, which rates countries all over the world. As part of the summary statistics from this reporting body, each country is rated in terms of 3 headings: Flagship, Access, and Economic.
In terms of flagship universities Ireland is rated at an impressive 96/100 placing the country at a very credible 11th place globally. However, in terms of access to university level education Ireland is rated at a less than impressive 79/100, placing the country at a mere 15th place globally. The real shock comes under the heading of economic (the fiscal emphasis placed by the government of the country on higher education) where Ireland scores a less than impressive 45/100, placing the country 33rd in the world and behind many less developed countries.
With the decision to establish another university in Ireland, these figures make very interesting reading. It has been the opinion of certain individuals that Ireland needs to focus on getting its universities into high ranking positions. These rankings as per the QS SAFE report show that Ireland has already achieved this with Trinity College featuring in the top 50 universities in the world and the country rated at a hugely impressive 96/100 in terms of flagship universities. However, in terms of government return on investment, and the success of the government providing access to university level education, Ireland falls way down the scale and highlights the need for improvement.
Chasing a higher grade in flagship universities implies the pursuit of the practically unachievable 4 percentage points to acquire a perfect 100/100 score. More achievable and pressing is the need to address the access to university level education and the return on investment into this sector by the Irish government. In both of these areas there is a respective 21% and 55% deficit to tackle, towards making serious improvement in the state of the Irish university sector. The underlying conclusions are obvious; any further investment into the university sector in Ireland needs to be directed at improving access to universities and creating more equally spread universities to attract investment to other parts of the country.
These figures further strengthen the case for creating a university in the South East of Ireland. A university that will cater for over 460,000 people and attract foreign direct investment into the South East of the country; a region that is currently lagging behind in terms of economic profile and future prospects, a region that will guarantee better returns for the government in terms of investment in the education sector. With a decision due on Waterford IT’s application for re-designation, more than ever the people of the South East need to make their voices heard so that the government makes the decision that is not only right for the region but according to the latest world ranking figures, a decision that will dramatically improve the overall ranking and attractiveness of the country.
Following a line of questioning in the Dail yesterday by Brian O’Shea (Labour TD) to Batt O’Keefe (Minister for Education) on the subject of the outstanding application for re-designation of WIT as the University for the South East, the Minister said that a decision is likely within a matter of weeks. Read the story in the Irish Examiner.
After so much stalemate and lack of response from the government on this matter, this is indeed a most welcome revelation. We urge everyone to send your e-mails, letters of support for this re-designation to the Minister and other government officials. This is a very important time for the process and we need to ensure that there is no doubt in the government’s minds that this matter needs to be addressed, urgently!
On Sunday, several volunteers from the Friends of the University for the South East took part in the annual Munster Express 10km fun run through Waterford City. Getting the name back out there to show people that the group is still going and still helping to raise awareness of the need for a university within the South East region. The runners were well-received by both the spectators and the event organisers - keep an eye out for photos in the local press. Following on our epic run to Dublin in April, this 10km event continues one of the strongest themes of the FUSE spirit, the willingness to put great personal effort into delivering the message. Just like finishing the race on Sunday, FUSE will not stop until we bring the issue of a university in the South East, across the finish line too! See photos here.
Pictured Left to Right: John Morley, Mark Rowe, Liam Quinn, Jonathan Brazil
Recently, Joe O’Brien (Director of CIF), speaking on behalf of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), gave the support of the industry towards the redesignation of WIT as a university for the South East. Mr. O’Brien commented that the region was lucky to have WIT, which has served as “a key driver in economic development” but also stated that a university would “act as a major catalyst towards inward investment”. Very positive comments indeed from Mr. O’Brien and the CIF; following a line of other businesses who have come out in support of this redesignation across the South East. FUSE welcomes and supports these highly positive comments and encourages others to keep speaking out in favour of this hugely important issue for the entire region’s economic future.
Many thanks to all the people who continue to send us their support and who remain committed to pushing this imperative matter. We have had a couple of queries recently with respect to how things are progressing and while we have been quiet publicly, rest assured that we are continuing to work on this pursuit in the background. The last public build-up of our activities centered about the release of the long awaited Port Report. People will have seen us in the streets of Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Clonmel, and Wexford and at various GAA fixtures around the national league, handing out leaflets on the subject of a university within the South East. Then there was the relay run that we staged from Waterford to Dublin and the culmination of that effort into a march at the Dáil. We did all this to make as many people aware of the findings of the Port Report and to try to urge people to make their voices known.With the unfortunate political situation of the former Taoiseach resigning and the subsequent cabinet shuffle, we think that it is fair to say that we are in this for the longer term now. As soon as the new cabinet positions were settled, contact was made with the new minister and we hope to open up a more serious line of communication as the next political term resumes. At the moment we are playing a backroom game and are not as publicly visible as we have previously been but rest assured that we are continuing to pursue this with the same passion that we always have. So, please continue to keep your support for the university case going strong. We all need to remain united on this matter and to show the government that this facility is urgently needed to the South East of the country.
The campaign has been quiet on the website for the past while: A great number of changes have happened since the run to Dublin back in April that required more work to be carried out behind the scenes. With the resignation of Bertie Ahern and the subsequent cabinet reshuffle, a step back was necessary to assess the new landscape and make new contacts. Now that the cabinet has settled down and the drama of the Lisbon Treaty has passed for the time being, it is time to renew and continue your support for this campaign for a university in the South East. Remember to look to the getting involved section and the homepage of the site (points in blue on the right side of the page) to see what you can do, you can also e-mail all the relevant cabinet ministers and regional TDs without having to copy or type their addresses. Click here (Outlook users click here) to start the e-mail and copy one of our sample letters as a starting point for your content. Once again thank you to everyone who has continued to keep the pressure on and to those who have kept contact with us. The case is still strong and has grown in strength since you started to help - let’s keep it going until we get what we deserve as a region!
Eamon Gilmore (Labour Party leader) came to WIT on Thursday last to address an audience. During his speech he paid particular focus to the needs of the South East region and with specific emphasis on a university for the region, stated that this was an urgent and necessary catalyst to rejuvenate the economic profile of the South East. Following on from Fine Gael’s priority questions to the Minister for Education recently in the Dáil, this added support from the Labour Party is a welcomed development in the case for a university to be established in the South East. With this collective support and the continued pressure from the public, the Minister cannot put this decision off for much longer. A transcript of Eamon’s address can be read here.
Yesterday Fine Gael TD Brian Hayes put a priority question to Minister Hanafin in the Dáil, about the decision regarding the university for the South East. The initial response from the Minister was the same text that has been seen from other government officials in recent weeks. However, Deputy Hayes persisted with his questioning regarding the decision and the government position on this issue. The Minister suggested that something would happen in the coming weeks but appeared unsettled at the direct line of questioning from the opposition. The full test of the Dáil transcript can be read here.
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