Bannon calls for midlands university

It might not go down too well in Athlone, but Deputy James Bannon believes that consideration should be given to the establishment of a university in the midlands.

The Fine Gael man’s proposal comes as thousands of Westmeath third level students begin their preparations for returning to college in the coming weeks. He believes that a new university would help ease the financial burden on local families with members who have to live away from home for their education.

“I don’t want to take away in any way from the excellent service that Athlone IT provides to the midlands, indeed, a university would complement Athlone IT and other excellent educational resources that exist in the midlands. However the fact remains that in order to access a university education people from the midlands must move away from home. This puts families under significant financial pressure.

“I know of one family that is considering buying a car for their son so as he can travel to Dublin on a daily basis in order to avoid accommodation costs, however this is not a sustainable situation for many students and their families.

"The costs of supporting a young person through university are considerable enough without adding travel and accommodation to the list.

“I am aware that we are still recovering from the economic disaster that occurred under the previous government and that Government spending is still very constrained, however I believe we need to put a university for the midlands on the agenda. It would provide considerable benefit to people in the midlands.”