Kildare South Fine Gael TD and Minister Martin Heydon has welcomed confirmation from his colleague Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris that the green light has been given to Maynooth University  to proceed to the next stage in its application for new healthcare places.

“Maynooth University was chosen by the Higher Education Authority to have a viable proposal to deliver additional health education. I am delighted that Kildare’s university has been successful in its proposal regarding expansion of healthcare places.

“This is a major day for Maynooth and Co. Kildare and a real vote of confidence in our ability to expand educational provision in our region.

“This project will now proceed to the next phase which is the formulation of a full business case which will then be assessed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.  This step is real progress. We now have concrete places to increase healthcare education in Kildare.

This won’t happen overnight but it is a significant moment to be celebrated for the future of education in Kildare. We have campaigned for this and now we can see real progress. I look forward to seeing more progress on this issue as the project moves forward” concluded Minister Heydon.