921. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the position regarding the signing of new public contracts with a firm (details supplied). [47294/26]

Thank you Deputy for your question. In order to respond to the matter you have raised I will outline the events referenced along with my departments role in these matters.

On Friday 1 May 2026 Munster Technological University (MTU), along with other HEIs in Ireland, became aware that Instructure, the US based supplier of MTU’s learning platform Canvas, had suffered a major data breach as a result of a hack by a well-known criminal group. While Canvas is cloud-based and this does not directly relate to MTU hardware/systems, this impacted MTU as the Data Controller with a significant number of student and staff accounts on the Canvas platform. I understand that the affected service was back in operation shortly after the attack and any issues addressed appropriately.

As the deputy is aware, MTU, like all higher education institutions are autonomous and responsible for the management of programmes and operations, including the contracts entered into for the delivery of necessary services. In this instance, MTU availed of a brokerage service under Asiera (formerly HEAnet and EduCampus), and entered into a contract with the third-party provider Canvas. My department has no role in this.

With regard to the European Declaration on Digital Sovereignty, my Department recognises the shared vision to increase EU technological independence. It is also a framework without strict legal obligations, which must be balanced against national policy commitments for the higher education sector, connectivity, and digital transformation. As such, future policy decisions made by my Department will be made with due consideration to all relevant commitments at a national and European level.

It is a key priority of my Department to enhance digital capacity within our Higher Education Institutions, while also acknowledging the role of institutional autonomy in the development of infrastructure and systems.