RIA joins call for ‘step-change in investment in higher education and research

Pre-election debate hears of need for significant investment in Ireland’s higher education and research system.

The Royal Irish Academy joined forces with organisations representing students, universities, business and academic research to call for a step-change in investment in higher education and research. The call coincided with a pre-election hustings debate on 25 September 2024 featuring representatives of all of the main political parties on the future funding of higher education held before a live audience at DCU and streamed to an online audience.

The five organisations – including USI, IUA, THEA, Royal Irish Academy and the BICC – have made the joint call on all political parties in advance of the upcoming election. In a joint statement the RIA and partners called for:

“Investing in higher education is absolutely critical for the future of the country. We must fund higher education and research for our young people and for our future economic and societal health. Both domestic and multi-national companies cite the sustainability of educated, high-skills talent as crucial to Ireland’s competitiveness. We are at risk of falling behind our key competitors across the globe if the investment, pledged by government under Funding the Future, is not delivered.”

With investment per student far below the EU average, and with student-staff ratios in Irish higher education at 23:1 amongst the worst in Europe, the organisations noted:

“It is essential that the next government, whatever its make-up, makes the necessary investment to both support the cost of higher education for students and the necessary funds for universities to deliver a quality, internationally competitive education. Our students and young people are the renewable resource for Ireland’s future. Government has identified what’s needed, and this now needs to be delivered.”

Funding the Future, launched by the then Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris TD, in May 2022, identified a €307m per annum shortfall in higher education core funding in addition to costs to support students and the funding for additional students and for national pay awards. In the two years since, €100m or just under one-third of the annual deficit has been provided but almost all of this has been eaten up by pay inflation arising from government-negotiated pay deals. Changes to student contributions and SUSI supports were made but have fallen well short of cost-of-living increases and accommodation costs for students.

The DCU debate featured Senator Malcolm Byrne, Fianna Fáil; Senator Joe O’Reilly, Fine Gael; Mairéad Farrell TD, Sinn Fein; Richard Boyd Barrett TD, People Before Profit; Senator Pauline O’Reilly, Green Party; Senator Annie Hoey, Labour and Gary Gannon TD, Social Democrats. Moderated by Gary Murphy, MRIA, Professor of Politics in the DCU School of Law and Government, the debate provided an opportunity to hear from the higher education spokespeople of the main political parties as to how they propose to deal with the funding challenges for higher education and research over the next five years.