University funding cuts ‘will hit healthcare’
The Department of Education has told the Higher Education Authority (HEA) they cannot guarantee funding for new buildings and equipment for health courses, despite chronic staff shortages in the sector.
The development is a further setback to the third-level sector, which is still awaiting €150 million promised last November for a once-off series of research grants.
The HEA asked the seven universities and 14 institutes of technology in May to submit building plans for the next few years, which would then be prioritised by a review team.
It was understood, however, that buildings to cater for healthcare students would be guaranteed cash when funding became available.
But in a letter to third-level chiefs this week, John Hayden, chief executive of the HEA, said all projects will be reviewed as part of the cost-cutting measures.
The Department of Education yesterday confirmed that all expenses are now being looked at.
A department spokesperson said: “All projects not contractually committed to have to be prioritised due to the current financial situation.”
The training of badly needed occupational and speech therapists, physiotherapists, and other healthcare professionals could be hit by the changes.
NAMHI, the national body promoting the rights of people with intellectual disability, said children and adults with special needs will suffer as a result of ongoing cuts in third-level training.
Other health education and research facilities are under threat because of a Government freeze on the €150m Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI).
The news of the cutbacks drew an angry response from opposition parties.
Fine Gael’s deputy education spokesperson David Stanton yesterday described the cutbacks as an attack on the country’s future.
The Labour Party called on the Education Minister Noel Dempsey to reverse the decision to cut the research funding.
The employers’ group IBEC said the funding cuts could deter some high-tech companies from locating here.
IBEC’S information technology branch director Brendan Butler said it would damage the country’s competitiveness.
“One of the great competitive advantages Ireland has had over the past decade was our well-educated young workforce.
“As we need to move up the value chain we need a greater number of people with postgraduate qualifications.”
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) said the move was “catastrophic for the future of the country as a centre of academic excellence”.
