New university for Munster

Ireland is to have a new university, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD has announced, together with the Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD and Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor today.

The new Munster Technological University is to be formed from a consortium made up of Cork Institute of Technology and Institute of Technology Tralee.

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD said: “The Government has a very clear ambition to expand and consolidate higher education facilities, to boost economic development across the country and to attract research funding. Technological Universities are central to delivering on this. The establishment of the Munster Technological University will stimulate a more balanced growth of population and employment across Ireland. It will make it easier to secure foreign direct investment and provide quality jobs in the region. This new TU in Munster will be a driver of regional development, and it will help to make higher education more accessible. Above all else it will provide more opportunities for individuals, enterprise and the community. I want to thank both Institutes, their staff, students and management..”