Sir, – Your editorial accurately calls the Government’s approach to third-level funding “contradictory and short-sighted” (“The Irish Times view on third-level funding: the shortfall remains”, October 8th). The Government’s failure is measurable by their own standards.
In 2022 Simon Harris, then minister for higher education, launched the Funding the Future Framework for higher education, accepting a €307 million shortfall in core funding and committing to closing the gap this decade.
Yet progress has stalled. Core funding rose by €40m in Budget 2023, €65.2m the following year and €58.7m in 2025 – but by just €9.6m in 2026. In his first budget as Finance Minister, Harris found a mere €10m for 2027. The Irish Universities Association (IUA) had asked for €190m.
Irish universities punch above their weight. It is significant that University College Dublin this year joined Trinity College Dublin in the QS world top 100: a credit to UCD’s students, academic, research and wider staff and their leadership team.
RM Block
But the reality is that publicly funded Irish universities underperform in faculty-to-student ratios, directly impacting our global competitiveness. Addressing this requires sustained core funding.
The Government’s progress on the Student Contribution Charge is welcome, but too slow.
The Green Party agrees with Harris’s 2022 assertion that fee cuts shouldn’t come at the expense of core funding. However, portraying a choice between the two is a false dichotomy. Abolishing fees widens access; core funding raises quality. We can sustain both if we make higher education a genuine fiscal priority, an investment strategy for our nation’s future prosperity.
Although the exchequer shows a significant surplus, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, the Economic and Social Research Institute and the Tánaiste himself repeatedly warn against overreliance on corporation tax windfalls. Graduates, research and Irish spinouts widen the domestic income tax base and keep our economy resilient for when the winds of fortune change.
The IUA estimates Irish universities add €10 billion a year to the economy. Ibec asked for €110m core funding in its pre-budget submission while the Irish Federation of University Teachers sought a “significant and sustained” increase, comparable with well-performing Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.
The universities, Ibec, the lecturers’ union, this newspaper and politicians across the Oireachtas share the same view: this sector must be adequately sustained through core funding. It’s high time this Government made it a priority. – Yours, etc,
CLLR EVA DOWLING,
Green Party spokesperson for Further and Higher Education,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
