Third level colleges need funding

THE Government must urgently invest in third level colleges for the benefit of the whole country, a university president said yesterday.

National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway president Dr Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh said the recent report of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Irish third level education supports the idea investment in universities is a necessity rather than an option.

“The report requires a comprehensive response from Government and should be acted on in a holistic and not a piecemeal way if it is to have a major impact on the country’s development,” he said.

He told graduates at the first of the university’s autumn conferring ceremonies the higher education system is at a crossroads, but that last month’s long-awaited report points the way forward.

It highlighted the need for greater public and private investment in third level institutions, but also suggested some students should pay tuition fees where they could afford it.

This proposal was backed at the weekend by head of NUI Maynooth’s economics department Professor Gerry Boyle who said it should be accompanied by a student loan scheme.

The Government has firmly ruled out the reintroduction of fees after former Education Minister Noel Dempsey’s failed plans for such a move last year.

However, his successor Mary Hanafin already faces pressure on methods of finding the necessary funding on the back of the OECD report, which she is likely to use for support in discussions on next year’s education budget with Finance Minister Brian Cowen in the weeks ahead.

Dr Ó Muircheartaigh said continued investment is needed in basic capital infrastructure of the universities and schemes such as the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) and Science Foundation Ireland.

He said this is essential for reaching the goals of the EU’s Lisbon Strategy, which sets out to make Europe the world’s leading knowledge-based economy in a decade.

NUI Galway is committed to providing a world-class education for its students, significantly enhancing its research profile and engaging with its communities in support of economic, cultural and social development, Dr Ó Muircheartaigh said.

But, he said, the university’s 250 million strategic plan for capital and other investment to provide leadership for change could be at risk without an adequate government funding policy.