“Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe has announced the latest phase of the third-level research programme which will deliver about €300 million to colleges. The programme was due to be launched amid much fanfare by Taoiseach Brian Cowen last year but it was delayed because of the economic crisis. In a low-key launch yesterday, details of the programme were issued via a press release from the Minister. The announcement was greeted with relief rather than jubilation among college heads yesterday. In 2003, the Government briefly ‘paused’ the Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI) programme, a move which provoked outrage across the academic and business communities …” (more)
[Séan Flynn, Irish Times, 9 January]