Proposed Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-23
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James Lawless (FF), Kildare North

Taking the Deputy's questions in reverse order, I will deal with the TUI in the first instance. The manner of the announcement was sensitive and was a case of jumping together. The executive of Dundalk IT, the board of Queen's University and, indeed, Cabinet here considered the matter on the same morning at the same time, and having come to a shared conclusion, we were then in a position to announce. I hope the Deputy will understand due to the sensitivities around it. It is historic. It is groundbreaking as a development creating the first all-island university, and it was essential that we moved as one. I hope that puts some context on the announcement.
I have met the TUI executive on a number of occasions, both here in Leinster House and elsewhere. I attended their conference recently and engaged with them on this matter and many other matters. We had a good, solid engagement. I do not say they agree with me on everything, nor I with them on everything, but we have a good working relationship and there is mutual respect there.
I might come back to the IADT-specific position in the next round because I want to go into some detail on that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-23