MOST other regional colleges in the technical sector would not be able to aspire to the status achieved by Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), the Minister of State for Health, Mr Brian O'Shea, told a meeting in the college yesterday.
The Labour TD was defending his party colleague, the Minister for Education, Ms Breathnach, against accusations that she had reneged on undertakings given to the Waterford college.
At an open forum, nine of the 13 candidates in, the Waterford constituency faced question from staff of WIT about the recent announcement that all other RTCs would also be eligible to adopt the title of "institute", a status that was announced for the Waterford college last January.
Mr O'Shea said that what the Minister had promised for Waterford in January had either been delivered, or was in the process of being delivered. No other college had the upgraded status - they still had to achieve that position.
Legislation for Waterford would follow the change in name. He promised that he would do everything possible to make sure that legislation went through as soon as possible. "We've got something very substantial, something that no other college has at this point," he said.
Mr Martin Cullen TD (FF) said his panty had made it clear that it would support WIT's effort to achieve its own legislative base and degree awarding status. Fianna Fail was not in favour of removing the RTC structure in which the other colleges operated.
He believed there might be another two colleges, at most, that would qualify for upgrading to institute rank.
Mr Austin Deasy TD (FG) said he was still confused by the Minister's statement on May 17th. On the one hand, it said that she was upgrading all RTCs to institute status, but then indicated that an expert group would have to assess each, of the colleges seeking upgrading.
In spite of repeated attempts, he had been unable to secure clarification on this from the Minister and her advisers. "I don't believe that all the RTCs are going to get the same level of recognition," said Mr Deasy. If this did happen, then Waterford should obviously demand that it be upgraded to the status of university.
He suggested that Waterford should take the initiative by promoting the idea of a campus. "Waterford should be thinking big," he said.
Speakers from the audience accused the Minister for Education of having backtracked on the promises to Waterford. They said there was a considerable amount of anger over this.
Meanwhile, Waterford Chamber of Commerce called on the Minister to honour the commitment made in January and change the legal designation of the college.
Only with separate legislation would WIT receive the necessary funding to develop, its statement said.