Sir, - In today's (January 28th) editorial you correctly state that "Cork RTC, in particular, is widely seen as one of the most progressive in the state and any decision to deny it a change in status will be seen as mean spirited and discriminatory across much of Munster." The implications of such perceived discrimination are obvious to any elected representative.
However, the editorial implicitly exhorts the Minister to look further than mere electoral ad vantage in finding a way out of her self inflicted position of compromise. You suggest a name fiddling compromise which tries "to preserve the diversity that is provided by the RTC's and to preserve the standing of the university system.
However, the problem is not what to give Cork to "assuage local feelings" but rather how to treat all educational institutions in an objectively fair (not party political) manner; one which avoids ad hoc creation of a second division of RTC's. Does this name fiddling this involve changing Waterford's designation also? Surely not; Waterford deserves its hard won status. But if Waterford does not change, then the problem has not gone away.
There is another way out. The Minister can publish the criteria according to which her decision on Waterford was made, and act to, apply those criteria to those institutions which seek institute of technology status. Doing so would still preserve diversity, preserve the university system, and give due recognition to any institution which, by its hard work, meets those criteria. - Yours, etc,
Cork Regional Lecturer,
Technical College.