Third level faces €500m shortfall, HEA warns

A FUNDING gap of almost €500 million a year will still have to be bridged to keep third-level colleges afloat even with major efficiencies being sought by the Higher Education Authority.

The HEA is working on a sustainability study to examine the likely requirements of state-funded institutions in the face of falling Government funding for their day-to-day activities.

But despite likely moves to promote greater year- round use of colleges, particularly in the institutes of technology, more distance and online learning and less duplication of courses between colleges, hundreds of millions of euro more will still be needed to help meet higher education participation targets.