The National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) is the first third level college in the country to be built under the Government’s Public-Private Partnership scheme. A Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is a partnership between the public and private sector for the purpose of delivering a project or service traditionally provided by the public sector. In this case the public partners are the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and the Irish Naval Service (INS) and the private partner is Focus Education. This model allows the college management and teaching staff to concentrate on education while the private partner is responsible for services to the college and the maintenance of facilities. The Irish Naval Service is the State’s principal seagoing agency with a general responsibility to meet contingent and actual maritime defence requirements. It is tasked with a variety of defence and other roles. Defence roles include defending territorial seas, deterring intrusive or aggressive acts, conducting maritime surveillance, maintaining an armed naval presence, ensuring right of passage, protecting marine assets and contributing to a blockade if required. The Naval Service must also be capable of supporting Army operations by sea lift and close naval support.
