18. (1) (a) The president, as soon as practicable after the appointed day, shall prepare a plan (in this section called a “strategic development plan”) for the period specified in the plan.

(b) The period specified in the strategic development plan shall be such period as the technological university considers appropriate and directs the president to specify in the plan, being a period of not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years from the date that the president prepares the plan under paragraph (a).

(c) The president shall prepare each subsequent strategic development plan not earlier than 6 months, and not later than 3 months, before the expiration of the period specified in the plan.

(2) A strategic development plan shall specify—

(a) the objectives of the technological university for the period specified in the plan and the strategies for achieving those objectives,

(b) the purposes for which the technological university proposes to use its resources,

(c) how the technological university shall comply with any requirements imposed on it under the Act of 2012,

(d) the plans of the technological university to provide programmes of education and training that meet the needs of individuals, business, enterprise, the professions, the community, local interests and other stakeholders in the region in which the campuses of the technological university are located, and

(e) the plans of the technological university to develop and promote strong social and cultural links, and links supporting creativity, between the technological university and the community in the region in which the campuses of the technological university are located.

(3) The president, in preparing a strategic development plan under subsection (1)(c), shall have regard to each of the following provided or issued to the technological university by the Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland during the period of the plan being replaced:

(a) a report under section 34 of the Act of 2012;

(b) a direction under section 35 of that Act.

F9[(3A) The president shall, for the purposes of preparing a strategic development plan under subsection (1)(c), consult with—

(a) the Minister,

(b) such other Ministers of the Government as the president considers appropriate,

(c) An tÚdarás,

(d) the students or the student union of the technological university,

(e) the members of the staff of the technological university or the trades unions or staff associations of those members of staff,

(f) the academic council of the technological university,

(g) the education and training board or boards in whose education and training board area or areas the campuses of the technological university are located or such other education and training board as the governing body considers appropriate,

(h) a local authority in whose functional area the campuses of the technological university are located, and

(i) such other body or person as the president considers appropriate.]

(4) The president shall submit the draft strategic development plan to the technological university for approval once it has been prepared.

(5) A technological university, having regard to the resources available to it, may either approve the strategic development plan without modification or, after consultation with the president, approve the plan with such modifications as it thinks fit.

(6) As soon as practicable after it approves the strategic development plan under subsection (5), the technological university shall provide a copy of the plan to the Minister and An tÚdarás and the Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland and publish it in such manner as the technological university considers appropriate.