TWICE THE SIZE - DIT Update - Dublin Institute of Technology

The elevation of the Waterford Institute of Technology to University status in 2013 represented
the next landmark achievement for the Southeast’s capital. With the continued decline of
traditional manufacturing jobs in the south East region, the move, aimed at plugging the ‘brain
drain’ from the region and facilitating the creation of knowledge based jobs in the future, could
not have come at a better time, and actually did far more to boost the morale and perceived
image of the city than any other initiative in the history of the city’s development. By 2020 the
University of the South East (USE) has established itself as one of the top places to study
archaeology in Ireland. This centre of excellence, developed in close proximity to Waterford’s
Viking site, laid the foundations for Waterford to capitalise on one of the most significant
archaeological finds in the world. By 2020 The South-East University was attracting a student
population of 30,000 and growing.
With the influx of students and inward investment, the city has grown to over 100,000 people,
by 2025. With the sheer scale of development, the city is facing a considerable challenge to
accommodate such levels of growth in a sustainable manner. Waterford is on the cusp of
becoming a fine, vibrant city, but by modernising at such a rapid pace, it runs the risk of losing
the intangibles that has given the city its unique identity. In contrast to this view the ESRI
published a major report in 2017 stating that the gloomy view of the social consequences of
prosperity - such as greater social inequality, loss of identity, looser community ties and a rise
in materialism - was completely unfounded. The reality was that the social impact of economic
progress in Waterford has been broadly positive, resulting in a decline in poverty rates,
increased social mobility and improvements in the health of the city. What the report did not
touch on however was the state of the city’s environment. In Waterford city alone, travel
demand has increased at unparalleled rates. Traffic congestion in the city centre has doubled
commute times, and air quality leaves much to be desired.
By 2025 there is evidence that global climate change has intensified at a faster rate than
predicted at the beginning of century. In Europe, the effects are catastrophic. Several incidents
of flooding are reported in low-lying coastal areas and places near river basins. Extreme winters
plague Northern Europe, hot summers cause droughts in rural France and the first signs of
locusts appear in Southern England. Hurricanes wreak havoc in Western Europe. The risks of
coastal flooding along the south East coast are significant yet Ireland continues to ignore the
elephant in the kitchen.
Key Events
• Major infrastructure developments – City Bypass, Outer Ring road, Waterford-Dublin
Motorway.
• Significant North city commercial and residential expansion – 30,000 seat covered arena.
• Re-designation of WIT to University status.
• Major inward investment.
• Lack of sustainable planning – potential for environmental disaster.
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