Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 February 2026
440. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the process for the way in which HEI’s can seek designations to enable their graduates to become Seanad electors. [8911/26]
View answerWhen 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, the technological universities, the institutes of technology, the National College of Art and Design and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. These institutions were established or recognised under legislation and were previously designated under the Higher Education Authority Act 1971.
The Higher Education Authority Act 2022 also provides for a designation by order process, which will allow 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 the development of the designation by order process. There are substantive matters to further consider from a policy perspective, including the appropriate criteria and conditions for designation to be set out in regulations, prior to the commencement of these provisions.
