“The Irish Universities Association (IUA) is dismayed by the latest developments in Hungary involving attacks on university autonomy and academic freedom, resulting in the Central European University (CEU) moving a large part of its activities out of Hungary from the 2019-20 academic year …” (more)
[IUA, 13 December]
“The proposal was always going to be crazy but what makes it insulting is its timing, writes Victoria White. The commitment by Mary Mitchell O’Connor, the minister of state at the Department of Education with special responsibility for higher education, to create 45 women-only professorships in our third level institutions at the cost of €6m per annum comes when these institutions are struggling for their lives …” (more)
[Irish Examiner, 15 November]
“The launch of the government’s plan to tackle gender equality in higher education today has caused a media stir. In particular, the decision by higher education minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor to create 45 women-only professorships – like most proposals that involve affirmative action – was met with controversy …” (more)
[Ciannait Khan, University Times, 12 November]
“The Irish Universities Association (IUA) today welcomed the Report of the Gender Equality Taskforce Action Plan 2018-2020. The IUA is fully committed to working with the Minister and Department of Education and Skills to implement the recommendations arising from the Report in order to bring about meaningful and sustainable change in gender equality in universities …” (more)
[IUA, 12 November]
“The Government is to fund dozens of women-only professorships over the next three years to help ‘eradicate gender inequality’ in higher education institutions. It follows the recommendations of a taskforce which says dramatic steps are needed to ensure more women occupy key leadership positions …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 11 November]
“Usually, government policy focuses on reasonably clear policy pathways. We have Programmes for Government, policy documents, Departmental revamps and ‘Ireland 2040’ visions for the future. These policies can be criticised or supported, but at least the strategy is clear. But where is the government’s strategy for higher education? …” (more)
[IFUT, 8 November]
“The National Forum has begun a consultation on its 2019-2021 Strategy. The deadline for submissions is 30 November 2018. The National Forum is currently developing its strategy to the end of 2021. This strategy will inform teaching and learning policy and practice in the years to come. This means, if you are reading this, it is likely to impact directly upon your work or studies …” (more)
[IUA, 2 November]
“Not so long ago, talking out loud about the decline of Ireland’s higher education sector was considered somewhat aberrant behaviour. As Tom Boland, the then-CEO of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), told the Royal Irish Academy in 2015, Ireland could not risk the reputational damage of stakeholders ‘shouting from the rooftops’ about the impact of the funding crisis …” (more)
[University Times, 22 October]
“The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has expressed its disappointment with the Government’s budget last week for failing to address the number issues facing the third-level education sector …” (more)
[College Tribune, 19 October]
“Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) this evening appealed to students for their views on the future of the campaign for higher education funding, with divisions emerging between those calling for a single-issue education campaign and those arguing for a wider social movement encompassing housing …” (more)
[Aisling Marren and Ciannait Khan, University Times, 16 October]
“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]
