Ninth Level Ireland

“Ainmníodh príomhléachtlann an Fhoirgnimh Fitzgerald i ndiaidh an fisiceoir cáiliúil Erwin Schrödinger. Ar an drochuair, ciallaíonn sé sin gur ainm péidifileach atá ar an léachtlann. Tá fíricí an scéal coscrach ar an gcuid is lú de. Scríobh Schrödinger é féin a chuid smaointe claona síos i ndialann a rinne an Irish Times tuairisc air i Mí na Nollag …” (more)

[University Times, 19 January]

“Here are some very interesting – and perhaps surprising – statistics about working from home in Ireland. It’s a few months old, but still relevant. It would be interesting to see an attitudes survey of this type for staff and student in Third Level institutions …” (more)

[In the Dark, 19 January]

“Trinity College Dublin (TCD) has given notice that it intends to lodge fresh plans for an eight storey 358 unit student accommodation scheme for Dartry in Dublin 6. An Bord Pleanala previously granted TCD the go-ahead for the student accommodation scheme at Trinity Hall in August 2020 despite local residents’ complaints over alleged late night, drunken rowdy behaviour by students …” (more)

[RTÉ News, 18 January]

“The President of the University of Limerick, Professor Kerstin Mey, has called for urgent Government action on a new funding model for the Irish university sector. Speaking at the first in-person conferring ceremony to take place at UL for two years, the President said ‘the importance and resilience of the Higher Education sector has never been more evident’ …” (more)

[Limerick Leader, 18 January]

“Strikes are ‘unpredictable before the event and only partially explicable afterwards’; this is certainly true of the strike in 1977 by the administrative/secretarial staff at University College Galway (UCG). At that time, a strike for union recognition in the public sector would have been rare enough, a strike by young female clerical workers was rarer still …” (more)

[Tish Gibbons, Look Left, 16 January]

“The Government expects salary increases for public servants to form part of new pay talks which will commence in Autumn. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said on Sunday that with rising inflation, it was inevitable that any negotiations for a new agreement between the Government and public service unions would include pay hikes …” (more)

[Harry McGee, Irish Times, 16 January]

“Plans to provide funds for free antigen tests for third level students across Ireland has been welcomed by the national students union. In December, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris announced a €9 million fund for further and higher education institutions to provide free antigen tests to students across Ireland …” (more)

[Darragh Bermingham, Irish Examiner, 16 January]

“Sir,– In a front-page article, Pat Leahy and Simon Carswell report that, ‘There is also some nervousness in Government and health service circles about the return of most students to colleges in the next fortnight, as many have not yet received their bolster booster vaccine doses’ (‘Government “cautiously optimistic” on further easing of restrictions’, News, January 13th). Well, quite …” (more)

[Cormac O’Raifeartaigh, Irish Times, 15 January]

“UCC has submitted further information to City Council about their plans to redevelop the landmark former Cork Distillers’ Bottling Plant on the North Mall. The information was supplied to the Council as part of a planning application which would see the Distillery Fields site subsumed by the Tyndall National Institute …” (more)

[Red FM, 15 January]

“Donegal County Council is to write to the new Atlantic Technological University once it is formed to seek assurances that ensure there is a place on its board for a council member …” (more)

[Highland Radio, 15 January]

“Dundalk IT have estimated that the cost of refurbishing the dilapidated ice-rink that it bought in 2014 would cost up to €1 million. In a letter sent to the Public Accounts Committee, President of DkIT, Michael Mulvey, said that he expected the cost of refurbishing the facility to be between €500,000 and €1 million …” (more)

[Tadgh McNally, TheJournal.ie, 15 January]

“A developer can carry out certain clearance works on a site for a €160 million student accommodation project near University College Dublin pending the hearing of a challenge to its planning permission, the High Court ruled …” (more)

[Irish Times, 14 January]

“Trinity College Dublin has secured key exemptions from sweeping Government reforms aimed at strengthening the accountability of higher education institutions due to its ‘distinct legal basis’. The Higher Education Authority Bill 2022 – the biggest shake-up of third-level governance in 50 years – aims to cut the size of university governing bodies, empower the Minister to appoint a majority of external members and provide a legal footing for reviews of individual colleges …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 14 January]

“Rumblings about increased government involvement in university governance have been around for some time, but in the past year, the knowledge that legislation is the pipeline has further heightened fears. The full bill was published last week, and it’s now clear that the Department of Higher Education is seeking to radically change the relationship between colleges and the Higher Education Authority …” (more)

[Emer Moreau, University Times, 13 January]

“The Department for the Economy (DfE) has modelled cutting university places and increasing tuition fees by almost 60% to save money. That is according to a presentation given to Stormont’s Economy Committee …” (more)

[Robbie Meredith, BBC News, 13 January]

“Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) and the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) have both said they will lobby for the retention of four student representatives on College Board, after the publication of a bill which will limit the number of students on university governing bodies to two …” (more)

[Emer Moreau, University Times, 12 January]

“The head of the Limerick garda division says gardai will continue to engage with the University of Limerick over the coming months in an effort to reduce the number of bikes being stolen in-and-around its campus in Castletroy …” (more)

[David Hurley, Limerick Leader, 12 January]

“The President of NUI Galway says there will be a need for flexibility in the early stages of the new semester as students and staff return. Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh says the planning process is being navigated in a similar fashion to semester one, with a view to being back on campus for the most part …” (more)

[Galway Bay FM, 11 January]

“Sir, – Matthew Glover suggests in his letter of January 10th that the push for university status in some areas is ‘driven by managers and staff seeking improved prestige and pay’ …” (more)

[Des Griffin, Irish Times, 12 January]

`”Some staff in the School of Physics are to call for the Erwin Schrödinger lecture theatre to be renamed in light of revelations about the physicist’s abuse of young women and girls …” (more)

[Jody Druce, University Times, 11 January]