Seán Canney TD, Minister of State for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rail and Ports and Leader in Cabinet of the Independent Ministers, has strongly supported the call from Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless TD to ensure that successful applicants to the Global Talent Ireland initiative can be appointed to professorial-level positions within Technological Universities (TUs) on an equal footing with established universities.

Minister Canney, a former lecturer in GMIT (now Atlantic Technological University (ATU)), said: “This is a vital issue for our higher education system. Without the ability to appoint professors within TUs, there is a real risk that these institutions will be unable to attract the calibre of global researchers that initiatives like Global Talent Ireland are designed to deliver. That gap must be closed urgently.”

Minister Canney welcomed the fact that Minister Lawless is engaging directly with the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services Reform and Delivery to resolve the matter, and stressed the particular importance of this reform for the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) and other TUs across the country.

“TUs such as ATU are central to regional development and to delivering new professional programmes, including pharmacy and veterinary medicine, that are due to come on stream next year. Any delay in establishing TU professorships puts these programmes, and the future capacity of our TUs, at increased risk. We cannot afford that delay.”

Minister Canney concluded: “This is about fairness, opportunity, and ensuring that every university – whether long-established or newly designated – can play its full role in attracting world-class talent and driving innovation. I fully support Minister Lawless in his efforts to see this resolved quickly.”