Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 July 2025
287. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if a school (details supplied) is recognised as a ‘designated institute’ will it have access to funding streams like other HEIs within the Higher Education Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36354/25]
View answerAt present Marino Institute of Education (MIE) is not a 'designated institution of higher education' as prescribed by the Higher Education Authority Act 2022. MIE receives funding from a mix of sources including government grants, student fees, and internal funding schemes.
When the Higher Education Authority Act 2022 was commenced, sixteen higher education institutions were automatically designated as “designated institutions of higher education”.
The automatically designated institutions of higher education are:
The seven traditional universities:
• Trinity College Dublin (TCD)
• University College Dublin (UCD)
• University College Cork (UCC)
• University of Galway (UG)
• Maynooth University (MU)
• University of Limerick (UL)
• Dublin City University (DCU)
The five technological universities:
• Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin)
• Munster Technological University (MTU)
• Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (TUS)
• South East Technological University (SETU)
• Atlantic Technological University (ATU)
The remaining two institutes of technology:
• Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT)
• Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT)
and two further institutions that were also established or recognised under legislation and were previously designated under the Higher Education Authority Act 1971:
• the National College of Art and Design (NCAD), and
• the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).
It is important to note that being listed as a designated institution of higher education does not mean that an institution will receive exchequer funding. There is a specific provision in section 37 (6) of the HEA Act 2022 which provides “nothing in this section shall be taken to mean that a designated institution of higher education, any other higher education provider or any other education provider, body or person shall be allocated funding by An tÚdarás in any financial year.”
The Higher Education Authority Act 2022 also provides for a designation by order process which allows other higher education institutions, including private and not-for-profit higher education institutions to apply for designation. However, these provisions have not yet been commenced. Work is underway on developing the designation by order process, including consideration of the conditions for designation for inclusion in regulations to be prescribed by the Minister under the Act. Once these are enacted, it will then be open to MIE to apply for designation by order under the legislation.
