Regulatory Impact Assessment Technological Universities All Island University Group (Amendment) Bill 2026

The landscape of higher education in the State has undergone significant transformation since the passing of the Technological Universities Act in 2018.

All former Institutes of Technology, with the exception of Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) and the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), have been amalgamated to form the five multicampus Technological Universities, joining the seven ‘traditional’ institutions and RCSI (which in 2019 gained university status via the 1997 Universities Act) as recognised universities of the State.

In October 2025, Queens University Belfast made an approach to DKIT to seek to commence engagement towards a strategic partnership, under which DkIT would become an autonomous self-governing university college of Queens University, similar to other arrangements which Queen’s has with other autonomous higher education institutions in Northern Ireland. Under the proposed partnership, DkIT would remain as an autonomous institute of higher education within the State, designated under the Higher Education Authority Act 2022, would continue to be funded by the Higher Education Authority, and would retain full autonomy over institutional finances, staffing and governance.

The partnership envisages DkIT integrating with Queen’s academic framework, including shared quality assurance processes and programme approval, with all undergraduate and postgraduate higher education programmes offered at Dundalk leading to awards conferred by Queen’s University Belfast. In addition, the two institutions intend to develop coordinated research activity in priority areas for the region such as advanced manufacturing, health and life sciences, sustainability, and data/AI through joint centres, doctoral pathways and other opportunities.

With respect to the re-designation of an institution as a university, successive Governments have maintained a consistent position on protecting the designation of “university” and ensuring that the title is reserved for institutions that meet clear and established criteria. The National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 emphasised the importance of achieving critical mass through institutional coherence, effective leadership, clear prioritisation of activities, alignment of staff and resources, and the capacity to deliver impact at a global level.

These principles informed the development of the criteria for Technological University designation, which were subsequently set out in the Technological Universities Act 2018. The five existing Technological Universities, each assessed as having the capacity to meet the required standards within a ten-year development period, have since been held to these benchmarks and have worked to advance their strategic development on the basis of metrics such as research student numbers, flexible provision, staffing transformation governance and academic structures, quality assurance, regional engagement, and international collaboration.

Consistent with the principle that an Institute of Technology cannot become a university through rebranding alone, the policy approach to DkIT’s strategic development is grounded in the understanding that it too must undergo a process of transformation to meet university-level standards, in a manner similar to that already established in the formation of the existing Technological Universities.

At the same time, the unique nature of the proposed partnership, under which DkIT will become a ‘university college’ of an established university and operate as part of an allisland university group, requires an approach distinct from the amalgamation processes which enabled the creation of the Technological Universities. To facilitate this initiative, it is necessary to introduce legislation providing for the designation of a “university college” of a partner university, with provisions appropriate to the functions and standards of an institution of this kind.