Group wants main university facilities to be located in Waterford

A new university in the south-east must have its main facilities in Waterford, a campaign group based in the city claims.

The Waterford University Action Group (WUAG) says that while students could be based at other locations in the region, degree courses should be completed on-site in Waterford.

The campaign for a university in the south-east is set to gather momentum with this week's announcement by SIPTU that it intends to make the lack of such a facility an issue in the next election.

The intervention has been welcomed by the WUAG, which has spent 15 years campaigning for university status for Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), but there is disagreement over how the university should be structured.

SIPTU proposes that the facility's main campus be in Waterford, but with colleges in Carlow, Clonmel, Wexford and Kilkenny.

"Each college of this new university should reflect the needs of the town or city it is based in, but also reflect indigenous characteristics and aptitudes, for example arts, food science, tourism studies, marine studies, business, information technology, biotechnology, etc," said the union's regional secretary, Mr Mike Jennings.

The WUAG, however, claims standalone departments or faculties could lead to "a dilution of effort and intellectual capital" in the proposed university.

Mr Oliver Clery, secretary of the group, said a system of "two-year colleges in locations like Wexford and Tipperary", where students would study a portion of their chosen course before completing their degrees or undertaking postgraduate study in Waterford, was "a far sturdier model".

While the group supported SIPTU's call for a university for the south-east, the "development of a strong centre of critical mass in Waterford city" is important to the region's future well-being.

"Better intra-regional transport in the south-east would facilitate such a process and expanded broadband communications are also essential," he added.

Mr Clery, who is also a board member of WIT and a candidate for the Progressive Democrats in the next election, believes the case for a university in Waterford is clear cut.

"WIT is already one of the largest third-level colleges in the State, with nearly 6,000 full-time and 4,000 part-time students," he said.

"University status for Waterford is vital in terms of the city's status as a gateway in the forthcoming National Spatial Strategy. It would enable the city and the region to compete for foreign direct investment with places like Limerick and Galway where the existence of a university has been shown to be vital in terms of development."