Madam, - Once again Mr Noel Dempsey has rejected the case for upgrading Waterford Institute of Technology to university status in the face of yet another compelling report from an expert: Prof Malcolm Skilbeck. The Minister claims that the WIT "has the capacity to meet the higher education needs of the region over the coming years".
I wonder if the Minister has actually bothered to think the case through for himself. Waterford is the only major city in the country without a university and the south-east, being a populous region with a number of large towns, is deprived of this highest tier of education.
Income levels in the south-east have dropped below those of the supposedly poor west of the country. Waterford city has a higher proportion of its workforce in the declining, low-skilled manufacturing sector than any other city. Waterford is supposedly a national gateway, but it is placed at a disadvantage against other cities in competing for foreign direct investment.
It is a fact that high-tech industry is attracted to locations near a university. Highly skilled university graduates hailing from the region often do not return, so we are faced also with an acute "brain drain" from the region into other areas of the country.
The numbers holding degrees in Waterford city and the south-east region are shockingly low compared with other regions, namely because the selection of degree programmes are restricted by the IT remit and due to the understandable reluctance of young Waterfordians to leave their home city. In light of these facts, I would like to know exactly how WIT, as excellent as it is, has the capacity to meet all of the education needs of the region.
A university in Waterford is in urgent demand for the good of the region and it is an absolute travesty that in the 21st century, arguments have to be made for such a vital resource. - Yours, etc.,
MARK McLAUGHLIN,
Shanliss Avenue,
Santry,
Dublin 9.