“Ireland’s housing crisis is set to worsen in the coming weeks, with unprecedented demand for student accommodation across the country forcing universities to appeal for support …” (more)
[Wayne O’Connor, Independent, 31 July]
“Politicians should stop using a ‘carrot of higher graduate earnings’ to justify raising student fees or freezing repayment thresholds, say campaigners. Those who do ‘should be charged with gross mis-selling’, says Angus Hanton, co-founder of the Intergenerational Foundation (IF) lobby group …” (more)
[Judith Burns, BBC News, 31 July]
“A plan by Trinity College Dublin for a €52 million student accommodation development has been refused permission by An Bord Pleanála. In the plan, TCD wanted to demolish the existing five-storey Oisín House, which has been in use by the Department of Social Protection and other tenants on Dublin’s Pearse Street for more than 20 years …” (more)
[Gordon Deegan, Irish Times, 30 July]
“New Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) President Joanne Irwin has identified income parity for new teachers and lecturers as the key priority of her term of office. Other critical issues on the union’s immediate agenda include the underfunding crisis in Institutes of Technology and insecure employment conditions of those working in the further and adult education sectors …” (more)
[Teachers’ Union of Ireland, 29 July]
“Sir, – The new board of the Higher Education Authority has been announced with Minister for Education Richard Bruton giving it more of a ‘business focus’ with a number of board appointees coming from a business-friendly background (News, July 28th) …” (more)
[Shane Bergin, Irish Times, 28 July]
“Highly qualified graduates, and plenty of them, are central to sustaining Ireland’s life sciences success. But how to get them? ‘There is an ever-increasing need for ever better graduates’, says Mark Ferguson, director general of Science Foundation Ireland …” (more)
[Sandra O’Connell, Irish Times, 28 July]
“Conversations around gender equity in science and maths have been intensifying in recent years. According to the Central Statistics Office, of the 118,000 people working in Stem (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) industries in Ireland, only a quarter is female …” (more)
[Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, Irish Times, 28 July]
“Workers and contractors at GMIT voiced concerns about children being on the campus and using toilets at weekends during an internal investigation into holes purposely drilled in cubicle walls by a ‘Peeping Tom’ …” (more)
[Enda Cunningham, Connacht Tribune, 29 July]
“The restoration of allowances for new teachers is being explored in talks between trade unions and Government officials as a way of tackling pay inequality in the teaching profession. These qualification allowances – worth up to €6,000 – were abolished for new entrants in 2012 as part of a series of measures aimed at cutting the public sector pay bill …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien and Martin Wall, Irish Times, 28 July]
“Training for the instructors of Trinity Hall’s mandatory consent workshops will take place on September 1st, and will see 12 students trained to lead the workshops that will begin this year for first-year residents, alongside 12 staff facilitators …” (more)
[Dominic McGrath, University Times, 27 July]
“Universities are relying too much on ‘accidental’ leadership training for those about to take over academic departments, a study claims. Identifying a culture of ‘institutional neglect’ of potential future academic middle managers, the report published in the journal Higher Education Policy found that many departments are led by those with no formal training who had been asked to pick up complex and diverse managerial duties with very little support …” (more)
[Jack Grove, Times Higher Education, 27 July]
“The former chief executive of the Royal College of Surgeons has been appointed chair of Higher Education Authority (HEA) by Minister for Education Richard Bruton. It is one of a series of business and management-focused appointments which Mr Bruton has made at a time when funding has emerged as the biggest issue facing the third level sector …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 27 July]
“The Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD, today announced the following appointments to the board of the Higher Education Authority (HEA). Chairperson:- Mr Michael Horgan. Mr Horgan is the current Chair of the Health and Safety Authority and was formerly the Chief Executive of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) …” (more)
[Department of Education and Skills, 27 July]
“As noted on this website on July 22nd, NUI Galway applied recently to the High Court seeking a pre-trial hearing of the cases being taken by the four female lecturers who are suing the university on the basis of gender discrimination in the 2008/9 round of promotion to Senior Lecturer …” (more)
[Micheline’s Three Conditions, 27 July]
“Two reports on gender trends in Trinity have revealed the persistent gender inequality that exists among the university’s staff, where women make up 16% of chair professor positions, compared to 84% of men. At the current rate of change, according to the report, this gap would not be solved until 2098 …” (more)
[Charlotte Ryan, University Times, 26 July]
“A judge has granted an application by National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) for a trial of preliminary legal issues before a full hearing of actions by four female lecturers. They are alleging gender discrimination in a competition for promotion …” (more)
[Mary Carolan, Irish Times, 26 July]
“Student fees in Northern Ireland could rocket past the £6,000 a year mark if the government fails to stump up the cash needed, it has been reported …” (more)
[Belfast Telegraph, 26 July]
“Awareness among universities of their responsibilities under consumer protection law is increasing, although some poor practices remain, the UK’s competition watchdog has found …” (more)
[Out-Law.com, 26 July]
“A new €8,000 campaign by Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) and University College Dublin Students’ Union (UCDSU), in partnership with the accommodation website Daft.ie, will encourage homeowners to rent out rooms to students in an attempt to provide a short-term solution to the accommodation crisis …” (more)
[Dominic McGrath and Róisín Power, University Times, 26 July]
“Student tuition fees in Northern Ireland could rise to £6,300 a year, Queen’s University in Belfast has said. It said students should pay between £5,200 and £6,300 depending on the level of government funding available. Students currently pay £3,925 to study at Northern Ireland universities …” (more)
[Robbie Meredith, BBC News, 26 July]
