THE rift between the seven universities has deepened with another president adding his concerns about possible Government moves to support an exclusive research agreement between Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and University College Dublin (UCD).

Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Jimmy Devins, today launched on behalf of Science Foundation Ireland its Annual Report 2007 and announced new funding of over €23m for 143 projects, under the SFI Research Frontiers Programme (RFP) for 2008.

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is to invest up to €18m a year in a new programme that will create 150 extra research posts in Irish Higher Education Institutes (HEIs).

THE Government’s ambitious research and science policies are doomed to failure unless research staff in universities are offered better pay and conditions, it was claimed yesterday.