Former UCD boss claims research environment in Irish universities is 'significantly inferior'
A Citizens Assembly should be called to address a national crisis in the funding of higher education and research here, the former head of University College Dublin (UCD) has warned.
As Irish universities continue their descent out of the international rankings, the Government is sitting on its hands, ignoring a long line of reports calling for urgent investment in the sector, according to Professor Hugh Brady.
Professor Brady, president of UCD from 2004 to 2013, is the current vice-chancellor and president of the University of Bristol.
“Ireland’s place in European higher education and research has suffered as a result of the past decade of cuts and lack of investment,” Professor Brady said.
In his address to the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, Professor Brady said the research environment here has come to be considered "significantly inferior" to most of its major competitors.
“It is simply not viewed as attractive a destination for top talent or collaboration as it was before the crash. The consequences of these differences in education and research funding are plain to see."
The University of Bristol not only has at least 25% more funding per student, its government has also made serious commitments to funding new research and introduced a student loan system in 2012, he added.
"Bristol, a university equivalent in size to UCD and Trinity College Dublin, is €100 million better off before my colleagues even apply for their research grants."
The university also managed to secure more European Research Council grants this year alone than all of the Irish universities put together, he added.
While the Government is “unwilling to grasp the nettle of tuition fees or loans” to fill the gap caused by major cuts to State funding, viable alternatives have not been brought to the table, he added.
"If it is viewed too politically difficult for any single party to make the necessary hard choices regarding investment in higher education and research, then why not ask the Citizens Assembly to consider the matter but with an all-party commitment upfront to act on their recommendations?"
The next update on the Cassells report, an expert report carried out in 2015 that found an additional €600 million is needed to sustain the Irish third level sector by 2021, is expected in September 2020.
In 2018, the Department of Education requested the assistance of the European Commission Structural Support Service to consider the report's findings.
Meanwhile, both Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Education Joe McHugh have expressed their reluctance to introduce a student loan scheme or increase third-level fees further, two of the three recommendations from the Cassells Report.
Professor Brady's comments should act as a wake-up call for all Irish politicians on the continued under-investment in universities here, according to Jim Miley, the director general of the Irish Universities Association (IUA).
"Hugh Brady set out in very stark terms the comparisons between the level of investment in Irish and UK universities," Mr Miley said.
"As the UK Government invests in its universities in the face of Brexit uncertainty, I would urge the Irish government to do the same and use next week’s budget as the first opportunity to act.”
