LABOUR LEADER Eamon Gilmore yesterday became the first leader of a major political party to publicly speak out in favour of a university for the southeast.
Mr Gilmore delivered the Michael O'Brien lecture at Waterford Institute of Technology yesterday and said that gaining university status was important for the economic development in the southeast region.
Fine Gael's official policy also favours the creation of a university in the region. Its education spokesman Brian Hayes articulated that view following a decision taken by his party's frontbench in March.
In the course of his lecture yesterday, Mr Gilmore referred to inequalities in economic distribution throughout the State. "Despite all the economic growth of the past two decades, the most recent county-level CSO data for disposable income per capita show marked inequalities across the State. While income in Waterford itself is just below the national average, disposable income per capita in Wexford is nearly 11 per cent below the national average, the same is true of Kilkenny, and in Carlow the figure is 12 per cent.
"One also has to question how meaningful the national average is in that context. The more salient fact is that income per head in the southeast as a whole is almost 20 per cent below the Dublin level."
The Labour leader argued that a university of the southeast would be a key driver of economic growth in an era when regions compete for international investment. "Third-level institutions are an essential driver of regional economic growth. Universities are at the centre of the regional system of innovation. They are important in attracting industry to a region, and in persuading young people to stay in the region. Their research capacities are sought after by firms, and the presence of a university is a vital element in attracting firms to invest in the region.
"Over time, their research and teaching activities can develop to meet the specific needs of the regional economy. Universities are also an important source of direct employment, and they add to the cultural and artistic infrastructure, which is part of the overall package which attracts people to the region."
That was why Labour has been a strong supporter of the concept of a university of the southeast, Mr Gilmore said.
