The seven university presidents are stepping up their campaign to highlight what they see as a deepening financial crisis within their institutions. Several of their number have already called for the return of college tuition fees. Last week, they pointed out how an additional investment of several hundred million per year is required to allow the Republic's universities compete on equal terms with the world's best.
The timing of this campaign was a little unfortunate, coming in a week which saw the Government launch the latest €230 million Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI) and a second €130 million funding programme under the Strategic Innovation Fund.
In truth, the Government has hardly been mean-spirited when it comes to the third-level sector. Total funding has doubled since 1999. More than €13 billion has been allocated to higher education as part of the National Development Plan and in excess of €1 billion has been invested under the four cycles of the PRTLI. Campuses across the State are also being transformed by new buildings and infrastructure. There is no shortage of outdated and dilapidated buildings but huge progress has been made in dealing with the one-time accommodation crisis in higher education. That said, the scale of funding now being rolled out must be measured against the lofty ambition set by the Government itself for the higher education sector rather than those dark days when colleges were asked to muddle through.
What does the Government want from our universities? In stark terms, it is seeking to create a "world-class" university sector which will be a key driver in the move towards the knowledge economy. It is a message repeated with regularity by senior Ministers: better universities mean better graduates, better jobs and a better economy.
Yes, the Government has backed up this ambition with greatly increased investment in the third-level sector. But the scale of this investment is still way short of what is required to allow Irish universities compete on equal terms with the world's best. A landmark report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2004 on the third-level sector here acknowledged as much. Nothing less than a "quantum leap" in funding is required, it advised, if the universities are to meet the objectives set for them. It signalled how the Government cannot have it both ways: it cannot raise the bar for the universities and then deny them the resources to compete. Three years on, the Government has still to fully appreciate this message.