THE Munster Technological University is to be established on January 1, 2021, Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris has confirmed.

MTU is a merging of the Institute of Technology Tralee and Cork Institute of Technology and is the second technological university in the State.

Announcing details of the establishment of the University today, Mr Harris said the merging of the two institutes “creates a new step-change institution of sufficient size, capacity, and critical mass to maximise its potential and deliver significant additional benefits to the Munster region in particular, but not solely.”

The Minister added: "Government has a very clear ambition to create a series of interlinked higher education institutions of greater capacity and reach across all regions of the country in order to help deliver on key national strategic objectives.

"We want to ensure all our regions become vibrant powerhouses of skills creation, research and development potential, and crucially to provide the components necessary to deliver that potential.

"Technological universities or TUs are a key component in this strategic approach, providing increased reach, international recognition, greater research capacity, FDI attraction, skills retention and creation, regional development, enhanced staff and student experiences and opportunities and advanced socio-economic progression."

Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North Central Padraig O’Sullivan welcomed the news. “This is a landmark development for the south-west,” he said. 

“The new university will cater for 18,000 students spread across five campuses at CIT Bishopstown, IT Tralee, CIT School of Music, CIT Crawford College of Art and Design, and the National Maritime College of Ireland in Ringaskiddy.

“The establishment of the MTU will stimulate a more balanced growth of population and employment across Ireland. It will also help to make higher education more accessible. A technological university in this region will mean more students than ever stay locally and indeed are attracted to the area to further their education.”