Linda Doyle, the provost of Trinity College Dublin, took the unusual step for someone in her position of rebuking the Government, via a social media post a few days before the budget for the parlous financial state of Irish universities amid buoyant exchequer returns.
It is important to note that the Government was besieged with funding requests from every sector in advance of the budget and it is not possible to placate every interest group. But the hallmark of any good budget process is that it invests in the productive capacity of the economy in order to create a solid platform for future growth. In this regard, Budget 2027 leaves questions hanging in a few key areas. Third-level education is one of them.
The Government’s approach to funding the third level sector is contradictory and short-sighted. Its ambition is to make Ireland a high-tech knowledge economy that not only produces the talent needed for the multinational sector but also provides a foundation for a healthy domestic sector. Well-funded universities and other third-level institutions are a crucial component of this ecosystem.
Third-level fees were scrapped in 1996 as part of sweeping reforms. The Irish economy was taking off so sufficient tax revenues were available to invest in the third-level sector. But when the economy crashed in 2008, funding fell precipitously.
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In the intervening years, successive governments have commissioned reports on how to solve the funding gap. Among the recommendations have been the reintroduction of fees along with a student loan system. Since each option carries political risks, governments have repeatedly deferred much-needed reforms in favour of fee relief for students and parents.
In 2022, Simon Harris, the then minister for Higher Education, accepted that there was an annual funding gap of €307m and pledged to close it by the end of this decade.
The Irish University Association estimate that the gap at the start of this week was €250m on the back of unfunded growth in student numbers and unfunded pay awards and that Budget 2027 delivered only €10m in core new funding. This has left some institutions looking for cutbacks.
Ireland is close to the bottom among EU member states in investment in third-level education.
Doyle concluded her social media post last week with a pithy observation: “We have such ambition but ambition without investment is just a daydream.” Universities have a responsibility, too, to manage their resources more effectively. But the Government would be well advised to take heed of the increasingly desperate calls from the sector and to focus both on affordability and on the provision of the highest level of education possible.
