Three university presidents have been sharply critical of the Government's management of the sector.
In response to the recent Estimates, the colleges' heads have accused the Government of demoralising the sector.
They have also detailed how a range of academic and other services have been curtailed.
The recent Estimates gave a 6 per cent increase in current spending to the seven universities, following a cumulative 14 per cent cut in the previous two years.
In separate responses to The Irish Times, the presidents of the University of Limerick (UL), NUI Maynooth and UCD have detailed the practical impact of the funding crisis.
Dr Roger Downer, president of UL, described the Estimates as the "the cruellest of the blows delivered to the sector in recent years."
In previous years, he said, the effective cuts resulted, in part, from the erroneous belief that the sector was overly endowed and could absorb the cuts without any loss in quality. "This year, there can be no such excuse. Three Government-commissioned reports have demonstrated compellingly that Irish universities are severely under-funded, do not have hidden reserves of cash and require major investment in order to move towards the top league of EU universities."
Dr Downer said the current funding situation was "disappointing and demoralising" given the successful efforts by UL to restructure and modernise.
"For another year vacant positions will not be filled, urgently needed equipment and supplies will not be provided, teacher/student ratios will continue to be unacceptable, another 20 or more contract positions will not be renewed and staff will once more be asked to dig deeper and work harder in order that our students are provided with a high quality of education".
Dr Hugh Brady, president of UCD, said the impact of the funding crisis could be seen in all aspects of college life, including:
He cited the student health service (with one GP for 9,000 students) as a stark example of how the cuts are biting.
