Kilkenny is an ideal location for a third level education campus which will cater for 1,000 students, according to a recent report commissioned by Kilkenny County Council.

The report titled 'From Charter to Framework: The Case for Higher Education Provision in Kilkenny' states that the demand for third level education places supports the claim for a Kilkenny facility.

The plan is to have a third level offering that adds value to Kilkenny and the South East Region, and improves the economic and social wellbeing of the locals.

Kilkenny County Council is already developing proposals for centres of excellence with WIT and IT Carlow in the areas of "precision agriculture" and "design thinking".

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Minister with Special Responsibility for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O'Connor, TD, stated at the launch that the facility should be based on Co Kilkenny's niche areas. This would include focusing on education and training in the design, crafts, animation, heritage, tourism and the agri-food industry for which Kilkenny is synonymous.

She said: "Kilkenny is synonymous with high quality Irish craft/design and the agri-food industry and a third level campus would serve to further build on these areas of expertise and strengthen the County's economy."

The Minister stated that no formal arrangements had yet been put in place to develop the options in the Report, but identified a framework going forward.

"We now have a framework and we will move quickly to work with stakeholders to turn the vision into a reality," she said. "Such a facility would act as a much needed stimulus for the social and economic development of not just Kilkenny but the wider south east, would help galvanise the region, and help reverse the debilitating brain drain from which the region suffers."

(CM)