LEFTFIELD:FUNDING FOR Ireland's universities and colleges has been in decline in real terms for some time, and not just as a result of the recession. I started my term of office as president of DCU in 2000, and by 2007 the amount of money paid by the State for each student had, after accounting for inflation, decreased by 35 per cent.

In fairness, the actual higher education allocation increased year-on-year, but student numbers grew even faster and the increase was typically below the rate of inflation. Then came the recession, and funding was cut even more dramatically.

Independent reports began to pile up, confirming that Irish universities and colleges were seriously under- funded. In 2004, the OECD report recommended a significant increase in funding, particularly to improve student-staff ratios. The review of higher education strategy chaired by Dr Colin Hunt came to a similar conclusion and also pointed out that student numbers will grow by up to 50 per cent over the coming two decades, creating further serious budgetary pressures. Ireland’s universities and institutes of technology are at the heart of the country’s plans for economic regeneration. The IDA is again attracting significant foreign direct investment, but most of this is now highly knowledge intensive, and for this to continue, Ireland needs an undeniably world-class higher education sector that will attract high value international enterprises.

It’s not just that Irish universities are under-funded when set against international benchmarks or even just the country’s own ambitions. There are now serious concerns about the capacity of the system to maintain acceptable quality levels. Business leaders – and worryingly, those representing international companies in particular – have begun to complain about the quality of Irish graduates. And then, over the past few weeks, we have seen the Irish universities suffering some dramatic reverses in the global university rankings.

Some may argue that international rankings are not important. But in reality, they are because those contemplating studying in Ireland, or doing business here, take them seriously. Also, the rankings typically reflect funding decisions taken a year or two earlier. So we already know that the position of Irish universities will deteriorate further, even if funds were found right now.

So what’s to be done? The answer is simple enough, because there is only one way to go: Ireland’s universities and colleges need to be given more money. What remains to be determined is how the money will be found. Almost every review has concluded the same thing: the country must reinstate tuition fees, and in doing so, must not claw back the proceeds. This recommendation is made not because of any inherent dislike of public funding for higher education, but because it is not at all clear that the Irish taxpayer is in any position to provide the funds that are now needed.

However, these are policy judgements. If the government is willing to pay the additional money to fund the sector and stop the erosion of quality, then that is also a way forward, but this would presumably be at the expense of other public services. Otherwise tuition fees are necessary. Either way, action is needed now, because the higher education sector is in genuine distress and is increasingly at risk. The country has a Minister for Education who means to make a difference. This is the issue that he needs to deal with as a priority.

Ferdinand von Prondzynski, is principal and vice-chancellor, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland