Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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30. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of plans to open new campus facilities for the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest at Coonagh, Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23042/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I officially opened the TU Shannon Limerick Coonagh Campus on the 26^th April last. The building is currently in use with apprenticeship teaching commencing this month in the facility. The additional eight apprenticeship blocks facilitated by this investment will come on stream from September 2024.

Limerick Institute of Technology (now TU Shannon) received €3.5 million from my Department in 2017 for the purchase of the site at Coonagh. Exchequer funding of circa. €21.5 million has been provided for the fit-out of the existing building on the site to facilitate the move of TU Shannon Limerick engineering facilities to this new campus. The Coonagh campus facilitates an expansion of engineering education and research, with an emphasis on increasing apprenticeship provision.

The external and enabling works, which involved heavy civil and structural works and changes to the building envelope was complete along with 5,819 m² of refurbished buildings. The refurbishment and fit-out provides for an additional 542 students.

The building contains a range of additional general teaching and learning facilities including workshops, laboratories and research facilities, which provides space for manufacturing engineering, other engineering activities and engineering related programmes particularly in apprenticeship programmes.