Higher Education Minister must address funding crisis as a priority – Byrne

Fianna Fáil’s Spokesperson on Higher Education, Malcolm Byrne, has called for the newly appointed Minister for Higher Education, Patrick O’Donovan, to address the funding crisis faced by Higher Education Institutes.

Recent media reporting has shown that universities are set to run deficits of €15 million as some institutions continue to struggle with rising costs.

Senator Byrne said: “There is a higher education funding crisis. About eight of the 18 publicly funded higher education institutions were in the red last year and universities are projected to run combined deficits this year of about €15 million.

“The issues of funding for students and higher education have been kicked down the road for too long. Institutions are trying to cope with rising costs while simultaneously being underfunded.

“If the core question of funding is not addressed, challenges are going to continue for our Higher Education Institutes. Lack of funding means problems for students having adequate access to libraries, laboratories and all other facilities, as well as a myriad of knock-on challenges.

“The previous Minister reached a decision that an additional €307 million over three years was needed to meet the funding challenge. However, not enough of this has been delivered. The situation now facing our Higher Education Institutions is dire. They are underfunded, financially stressed and require immediate action on the part of Government to cope with rising costs.

“I am calling on the new Minister to outline as a matter of priority how he intends to tackle this crisis.”

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