851. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the details of the annual payments in respect of the loans provided to IT Tralee and Waterford IT since the loan was provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42799/24]

A repayment agreement for the €5 million emergency funding provided to the Institute of Technology Tralee, now Munster Technological University, in 2019 was signed between the Higher Education Authority, Munster Technological University and my Department in early 2023. A repayment schedule was put in place to enable repayments on the €5 million emergency funding which commenced in May 2024. The repayment schedule will run from 2024 out to 2043.

Waterford Institute of Technology, now South East Technological University, obtained an interest free State loan of €12.1m in 2014 to assist with the purchase of student accommodation and completion of a sports arena. The current agreement with the institution is to repay the Department in three instalments per annum in the amount of €301,018 bringing the total repayments per annum to €903,054. Repayments began in 2015 and the current balance outstanding is €4,214,244. The next repayment is due in March 2025.