University denies planning to rotate HQ between Waterford and Carlow

Location of headquarters has been controversial since negotiations intensified to amalgamate the former institutes of technology, which came together as SETU earlier this year

The South East Technological University was forced to issue a statement confirming it is to rotate its main address 'for the purposes of administration' but 'has not announced a headquarters'. Picture: Dan Linehan

The South East Technological University has denied claims it is planning to rotate its headquarters between Waterford and Carlow every two years, but said the university's address will switch between the two counties.

The university was forced to issue a statement confirming it is to rotate its main address "for the purposes of administration" but that it "has not announced a headquarters".

The clarification follows criticism from a number of Waterford politicians after it appeared that the governing body of SETU had agreed to rotate the headquarters between the two counties.

"South East Technological University wishes to clarify that it has not announced a headquarters," said a spokeswoman for the university.

For the purposes of administration processes, the governing body agreed that the administrative address would be the Waterford campus for a two-year period.

The location of the headquarters has been a controversial topic since negotiations intensified to amalgamate both former institutes of technology, which formally came together as SETU earlier this year.

Minutes for SETU's governing body show that unnamed members sought "clarification" on the "administrative address" decision.

The minutes show that the chairman, Professor Patrick Prendergast, former provost of Trinity, confirmed it is likely the university's address will rotate with Carlow in two years.

The minutes read: "It was confirmed by the chair that the decision was that the address would be in Waterford, and the matter would be reviewed in two years with the intention to change the address to Carlow. This decision would be for the governing body at that time to make."

Dungarvan Labour councillor Thomas Phelan said to rotate the headquarters risked turning the university into a 'travelling circus'. Picture: Dan Linehan

Minister of State Mary Butler told WLR FM that she "does not expect the main headquarters to be anywhere else other than" in Waterford, while Dungarvan Labour councillor Thomas Phelan said to rotate the headquarters risked turning the university into a "travelling circus".

Ms Butler pointed out that Higher Education Minister Simon Harris had previously backed the city for the headquarters, when he said earlier this year that it would be "bonkers and bizarre" for it to be anywhere else.

Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane told the Irish Examiner that the final decision on a headquarters remains up to SETU but that it will be raised when Mr Harris meets Oireachtas members on the university's progress next week.

"My preference is that it should be based in Waterford but ultimately that is a decision for the board. The bigger issue, which will be discussed next week, is that we need additional funding that was promised to increase the footprint and increase capacity and to get the best out of technological university for Waterford and the region," he said.