College bosses say further reductions in student services to follow

THIRD-level college bosses have warned of further reductions in student services after the sector was hit by another €20 million cut in the supplementary budget.

College presidents have already been battling deficits which have reached up to e20m on some campuses and their 2009 budgets were cut by 2% by Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe in October. The bulk of the cuts will be in the form of a e16m drop in e1.35bn current funding, which mostly covers payroll costs, as well as e2m each cut from research budgets and from the Strategic Innovation Fund.

The Irish Universities Association, which represents the seven university presidents, said the latest cuts will place the sector under extreme strain.