Technological Universities
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-02
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Donna McGettigan (SF), Clare

As I said, this all started before this Department was created but there are a few outstanding questions. There is a difference in the salaries of TU graduates compared with those from the university sector. A total of €363 million was spent. Does the Minister think that represents value for money?
The Minister talked about research students, but there is a difference in this regard. Smaller institutions seem to be losing out while the larger ones seem to be gaining in some cases. That causes implications for the balance of power within the university sector and poses significant challenges to regional provision.
There are questions around fees for consultants. It is a massive issue, particularly when some consultants were appointed outside the procurement process. Some of them were former senior Government authorities, appointed to the very institutions they were responsible for regulating. A report on the whole needs to be looked at.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-02/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:14+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-02