THE APPLICATION by Waterford Institute for Technology (WIT) for university status has received a setback after the Minister for Education indicated that a Cabinet decision on the issue was unlikely in the short term.
Mary Hanafin said clear criteria for university designation would have to be established before the WIT application could be addressed in any detail.
Earlier this year, an expert report on Waterford's application, from British consultant Dr Jim Port, criticised current legislation on universities.
Section 9 of the Universities Act had failed to establish a clear criteria for university status, he said.
Ms Hanafin said it would, in her view, make more sense to establish this criteria before moving on to consider WIT's application.
Three colleges are seeking university designation at present: WIT, Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology.
Both Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Ms Hanafin have been slow to support the WIT bid, arguing that the issue must be considered on a national and not a regional basis.
The Port report said university designation would boost Waterford socially and economically. However, it also warned that a successful bid could unleash a raft of "me too" applications from other institutes of technology.
The Government is anxious to retain the current jobs and technology focus of the institutes.
In Galway yesterday, Ms Hanafin also said the proposed strategy group on higher education would be established shortly.
The group will examine the future direction of the seven universities, 14 institutes and other colleges.
It will comprise academics, students representatives, business figures and others. The group will also invite submissions from interested parties.
Ms Hanafin stressed that she did not want the review to be dominated by funding and building issues.
It should, she said, focus on the longer term role of the sector.
In recent months, the heads of universities have highlighted the funding crisis facing the sector and its inability to compete on equal terms with international rivals.
Many senior university figures favour the return of college fees, but Ms Hanafin says this issue is off the political agenda for the foreseeable future.
Ms Hanafin was speaking yesterday on the final day of the annual meeting of the Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools, where the issue of funding again dominated debate.
Fergus Dunne, director of the Financial Support Services Unit, said many smaller schools were no longer financially viable because of increased heating, electricity and water bills and poor State support.
He said a school with more than 350 pupils was allocated only €22,000 for a secretary and just €17,700 for a caretaker, rates which had remained unchanged since 1996.