A new report into the creation of a university in the southeast has said the two main colleges involved do not trust each other.

The Government-commissioned report says a technological university can be created involving Waterford and Carlow, but only if trust is restored.

Minister for Education Jan O'Sullivan said there is clearly an overwhelming wish of stakeholders in the region for a university.

The report, by former head of the Higher Education Authority Michael Kelly, notes the extent of erosion of trust between Waterford Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology, Carlow.

Mr Kelly also states that because of the position taken by WIT, it was not possible to have any round-table talks involving both institutes as part of his report.

WIT pulled out of previous merger negotiations with IT Carlow last October.

Mr Kelly states that any substantive re-engagement can only happen if the chairs and presidents of both colleges meet and try to create a framework within which mutual trust and respect can be re-built.

The heads of both colleges have welcomed the report.

Waterford IT has 8,200 full and part-time students, while IT Carlow has 6,325 full and part-time students.

The author of the report has said he is "cautiously optimistic" that progress can be made.

Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime programme the President of the Institute of Technology, Carlow, Dr Patricia Mulcahy, said there are many challenges to face in the creation of a technological university for the southeast.

Dr Mulcahy said that she agrees with the report's author that misinformation from Waterford Institute of Technology has been corrosive to the collaboration and trust between the two institutions.

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Michael Kelly said both Waterford IT and IT Carlow have now recommitted to the idea of a college for the southeast and have accepted that such an endeavour requires a partner.

"My judgement is that there is sufficient support in general for this to move forward now onto some positive footing.

"But I have suggested that, in the first instance, there does need to be some preliminary engagement, which would ventilate some of the problems of the past.

"I think that's going to be absolutely essential in order to get this onto a foundation of mutual trust, mutual respect, equality of esteem, and they're essential, moving forward."

Mr Kelly said the two colleges were now in the process of thinking through what that process of engagement might look like.