Ninth Level Ireland

“The Director General of the Irish Universities Association (IUA) Jim Miley called on Trinity students this evening to ‘put pressure on politicians’ and make higher education funding a political issue. Speaking to a Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) town hall meeting, Miley declared that ‘the state has sat back and refused to make a clear policy position’ on funding for higher education …” (more)

[Lauren Boland, Trinity News, 16 October]

“The seven universities are taking their campaign for increased funding beyond Leinster House by seeking public support for a petition to back increased funding for higher education. In a significant departure from traditional lobbying in the higher education sector, a €250,000-plus budget is being invested by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) in a multi-media campaign to promote awareness of the issues facing them …” (more)

[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 15 October]

“Ireland’s seven universities are turning to the public to put pressure on politicians to provide more State funding. The Irish Universities Association (IUA) has launched a campaign warning of the risk of a ‘serious drop in quality or a shortfall in places for students in the future’ if the funding crisis was not tackled urgently …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 15 October]

“Sir, – Mary Mitchell O’Connor, the Minister of State with responsibility for higher education, is absolutely right in her reported comments on gender inequality in Irish universities (‘Universities have failed to appoint a female president for 426 years, says Minister of State’, News, October 11th). This is a chronic problem entirely of the universities’ own making …” (more)

[Eunan O’Halpin, Irish Times, 12 October]

“Increased funding that will bring the Department of Education budget to a record high of €10.7bn next year drew a mixed response, including criticism of the failure to do more to end austerity-era cuts. The €674m includes €147m to meet pension and lump sum costs, a higher than usual allocation at this time …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 10 October]

“There have been claims that Budget 2019 does ‘very little to address the growing crisis in third-level funding’. The Irish Universities Association has said that the extra €57m allotted to them ‘only allows the system to tread water’ and will impact on the education and prospect of the next generation of graduates …” (more)

[Independent, 9 October]

“The government has done very little to address the growing crisis in third level funding in Budget 2019. The allocation of €57m million in ‘extra’ funding on top of existing commitments on national pay increases, while welcome, only allows the system to tread water. The bulk of the money is ring-fenced for specific purposes and does not deal with the core funding gap …” (more)

[Irish Universities Association, 9 October]

“The availability of college places for today’s first-class pupils is at risk unless there is urgent Government action on funding, it has been warned in an unprecedented, unified statement by third-level leaders, staff and students. With 40,000 extra students likely to be seeking higher education places by 2030, the joint statement calls for the budget in just under a fortnight to start addressing the issue or face the consequences for quality and capacity …” (more)

[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 27 September]

“In an unprecedented move, unions representing students and teaching staff have joined forces with the representative bodies of universities and institutes of technology to call on the government to respond to the growing crisis in higher education funding …” (more)

[IUA, 27 September]

“Sir, – The director of the Irish Universities Association’s letter on the value of higher education deserves some comment (September 17th). It is true to say that Ireland’s spend on higher education is the second lowest in the EU but only if that spend is expressed as a percentage of GDP …” (more)

[Greg Foley, Irish Times, 19 September]

“The IUA have been out in force what with the launch of Ireland’s Future Talent – A Charter for Irish Universities. The campaign started with this letter to the Irish Times. In the letter, the Director General of the IUA (Jim Miley) repeated the oft-stated point that state funding for Ireland’s higher education is the second lowest in the EU. This is true but only if that spend is expressed as a percentage of our notoriously inflated GDP …” (more)

[An Irish Blog about Education, 18 September]

“The twin pressures of funding cuts and growing student numbers sees Ireland’s university system classed as being in the ‘danger’ zone, according to an analysis by the European Universities Association (EUA). Ireland is rated with Iceland and Croatia as in the most perilous position in terms of public funding, in a review of 34 European countries and regions in the EUA Public Funding Observatory 2017 report …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 18 September]

“Irish universities say they must be ‘freed from the grinding levers of State control’ if they are to compete with the best in Europe. The call has come as the country’s seven universities launched a joint Charter, their first ever, in which they commit to transforming capability and performance across the sector …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 17 September]

“Universities insist they need greater flexibility around staffing and more public money to deliver the changes needed to meet the Government’s ambitions for the education system. A six-point charter launched by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) commits the seven colleges to delivering on Government aspirations to have Europe’s best education system by 2026 …” (more)

[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 18 September]

“The Irish Universities Association (IUA) today called on the government to ‘step up to the challenge and match the ambition’ of Irish universities, at the launch of a charter designed to make Ireland’s education system the best in Europe by 2026. University autonomy was at the core of the charter, as well as student accessibility …” (more)

[Aisling Marren, University Times, 17 September]

“Irish universities are seeking more freedom and flexibility to hire staff in order to compete with Europe’s top-performing colleges. The aims are contained in a new charter which the State’s seven universities say will underpin the future of third-level education …” (more)

[The Charter itself is here]
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 17 September]

“Sir, – Laura Kennedy asks, ‘What value is a university education?’. The answer is clearly outlined in the OECD Education at a Glance 2018 Report just published this week. The OECD confirms that 25- to 64-year-old workers in Ireland with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent earn 67% more than those with secondary education only …” (more)

[Jim Miley, Irish Times, 17 September]

“Less than 18 months ago, Ned Costello, the then-CEO of the Irish Universities Association (IUA), told The University Times that a student loan scheme was the best solution to the higher education sector’s intractable funding problem. The heads of each of the seven universities were unanimous on the issue – and, as the representative body of Ireland’s universities, it was up to the IUA to see that it be implemented …” (more)

[University Times, 9 September]

“Universities will no longer lobby the government to introduce a student loan scheme, marking a complete U-turn in their approach to the higher education funding crisis. In an interview with The University Times, the head of the Irish Universities Association (IUA), Jim Miley, said that universities are becoming ‘agnostic on loans’ …” (more)

[Eleanor O’Mahony, University Times, 6 September]

“Sir, – I note your report (News, July 6th) that the Irish Universities Association (IUA) has made a submission to the Government for an increase of €130 million in core funding and €104 million in ‘essential capital upgrades’ for 2019, and with further increases in subsequent years. The IUA also links the recent ‘fall in international standing’ of Irish universities to the paucity of state support …” (more)

[Eunan O’Halpin, Irish Times, 10 July]