‘ITs at risk of running out of money’

Several institutes of technology risk running out of cash next year, a report on the sector’s finances warns.

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) says the current cashflow situation at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) means it could have no money to spend on day-to-day expenditure next summer.

While the HEA has identified three unnamed institutes of technology as being at most immediate risk of running out of cash, the report shows a projected cash shortfall of nearly €2.3m at WIT next August.

HEA head of system funding, Andrew Brownlee, said the authority, colleges, and Government are committed to addressing the issues.

“We don’t foresee any issue around the continued operation of institutions, but we do see there are a range of issues that need to be addressed,” he said.

WIT has been the most successful institute at attracting research income and one of the best for EU income, but many colleges have much tighter cash reserves than others. The report suggests 10 of the 14 are vulnerable, or at risk of soon being in a vulnerable financial position.

The need for a significant capital investment is also flagged. It states: “The situation with regard to ICT infrastructure and the level of investment in technology is a concern, with equipment out of date and little evidence of responsiveness to a new multi-platform landscape.”

It also highlights difficulties faced trying to generate alternative income streams to the dwindling public funding of recent years, including a lack of flexibility in many colleges to deploying academic staff to programmes like summer teaching. However, recommendations like a system of redeploying staff between different institutes could meet resistance from the Teachers’ Union of Ireland which represents lecturers in the sector.

The HEA also highlighted the deviation from the core science, technology, engineering and maths disciplines. But this is partly an unintended consequence of how reduced exchequer funding is spent, as students in social sciences can be catered for at less cost.