SIPTU Representatives To Call For Wind Down Of Carlow College To Be Examined

Wednesday, 15 July 2026 at 08:43

By Daniel Maher

It comes as it is set to close down over the course of the next two years.

SIPTU representatives will today call on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Higher Education to launch an immediate examination into the decision to wind down Carlow College.

They also want to inquire into the flawed process that led to it's closure.

It comes as it is set to close down over the course of the next two years.

The decision will see the college's land's transferred to SETU.

The Union, representing almost 70% of the workforce at the historic institution, has argued that staff and their recognised trade union were entirely excluded from meaningful engagement until key decisions regarding the college’s future had already been finalised behind closed doors.

SIPTU will also also strongly question why a multi-year integration process, which was actively embedded in the College’s own Strategic Plan, ultimately resulted in outright closure rather than a structured transfer of students, programmes, and staff into SETU.

They are set to warn the Oireachtas Committee that the sudden decision leaves all 87 dedicated staff members facing redundancy over the next two years.

Speaking in advance of the hearing in Leinster House, SIPTU Education Organiser, Yvonne McGrath, said: "Our members fully understood that the College faced financial challenges and they were entirely prepared to work constructively towards a sustainable, long-term future. Up to the very end, every indication given to us was that integration with the South East Technological University (SETU) remained the agreed strategic direction.