Ninth Level Ireland

“A number of third-level stakeholders have expressed disappointment over Budget 2021, which was announced earlier today. Some €3.3 billion was allocated to the Department of Further and Higher Education under Budget 2021 – up from €2.8 billion last year – which includes a €50 million fund to assist third-level students experiencing financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic …” (more)

[Molly Furey, University Times, 13 October]

“In June, a new dawn broke for universities. They finally had a government department for themselves – a seat at the cabinet table – and a real chance of concrete reform for the sector. And, on the whole, summer had been a hopeful time for the sector. Higher Education Minister Simon Harris had proven an energetic figure, indicating that he felt higher education needed to be rejigged – and that funding was a priority …” (more)

[Cormac Watson, University Times, 13 October]

“The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has welcomed the allocation of €3.3b. to higher education in today’s Budget, but ‘after a decade of neglect, the sector must be included centrally in the government’s Recovery Fund next year to allow a return to sustainable education’, Joan Donegan, General Secretary of IFUT said …” (more)

[IFUT, 13 October]

“The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has said that the government has ‘ignored the systemic barriers preventing students from accessing higher education’. In a statement published in reaction to the announcement of the government budget for 2021, USI said that these barriers can ‘only be addressed through continuous financial support and not through one-off funding packages’ …” (more)

[Patrick Coyle, Trinity News, 13 October]

“Jim Miley, Director of the Irish Universities Association (IUA) has ‘warmly welcomed’ the support for higher education students included in Budget 2021. However, Miley stated that the government ‘needs to tackle the funding deficit elephant in the room’ …” (more)

[Shannon Connolly, Trinity News, 13 October]

“Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD and Minister of State for Skills and Further Education Niall Collins TD have today announced a series of new measures as part of Budget 2021. The package includes …” (more)

[MerrionStreet.ie, 13 October]

“All full-time third-level students are to receive a €250 payment in the coming year to help compensate for the move towards greater online learning. It is one of a number of education measures set to be unveiled in Budget 2021 including the hiring of 565 additional teachers to bring the pupil-teacher ratio at primary level to a record low …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 13 October]

“Being too tired to do anything else, last night I had a rare look at the television and found an interesting programme on RTÉ One called The Confessors which I watched to the end. The theme of the show was the tradition of the confession box in the Irish Catholic Church …” (more)

[In the Dark, 13 October]

“Trinity have said that they are reviewing the possibility of offering refunds to students who have paid for college owned accommodation but are not now using that accommodation due to classes being moved online. Speaking to Trinity News, a College spokesperson said: ‘Trinity is currently reviewing its policies in relation to such refunds and more information will be available shortly’ …” (more)

[Finn Purdy and Shannon Connolly, Trinity News, 13 October]

“Budget 2021 will be announced in the Dáil on Tuesday. Following on from a tumultuous year in the higher education sector, organisations have been lobbying intensively for the supports they think the sector needs …” (more)

[Sárán Fogarty and Cormac Watson, University Times, 12 October]

“The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has called for higher education to be given priority funding in next Tuesday’s Budget. Joan Donegan, General Secretary of IFUT, said that thousands of lecturers and tens of thousands of students require urgent support to cope with the impact of Covid-19, on top of a previous decade of underfunding …” (more)

[IFUT, 12 October]

“Sir, – Patrick Smyth (‘Commission lacks teeth in its promotion of rule of law’, Opinion & Analysis, October 10th) reports the rector of the Central European University (CEU), Michael Ignatieff, as asserting that his institution is the only university since the 1930s to have been expelled from one country (Hungary) to another (Austria). This is not the case …” (more)

[Ronald J Hill, Irish Times, 13 October]

“Any move to downgrade the GMIT campus in Castlebar will be strongly resisted. That was the message from a meeting of Mayo County Council today where the ending of the business course at the campus, as reported last week, was debated …” (more)

[Connaught Telegraph, 12 October]

“Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, has today (12 October 2020) confirmed that €47 million will be provided to support contract researchers and research students whose work has been seriously disrupted by the pandemic …” (more)

[DFHERIS, 12 October]

“In March, students left the Belfield campus, as they have every year for the welcomed two-week respite. But this time, they did not return. Covid-19 took the country into lockdown and resulted in the closure of Higher Education Institutions nationwide …” (more)

[College Tribune, 12 October]

“Round Hill Capital, an international real estate investment firm, and NBK Capital have bought a 412-bed student accommodation development in Cork. NBK Capital, a Middle Eastern investment company, will help co-fund the development …” (more)

[Ellie Donnelly, Independent, 12 October]

“Over several years there have been many examples of the worlds of politics and academia failing to understand one another. It can sometimes feel like they are willfully speaking different languages …” (more)

[Ed Dorrell, Wonkhe, 12 October]

“When the coronavirus pandemic took hold earlier this year, scientists sudden dominated the airwaves. ‘I never knew Northern Ireland had so many virologists’, was a common observation. Many of those experts – not least the North’s chief scientific adviser, Prof Ian Young – were from Queen’s University Belfast …” (more)

[Freya McClements, Irish Times, 12 October]

“Earlier this week, the Irish Universities Association (IUA) requested a hefty total of €538 million from the government in its pre-budget submission, which attempted to position higher education at the centre of the economy’s recovery. The IUA’s optimism is understandable – this is the first budget since the establishment of a Department of Higher Education in June, and third-level has enjoyed an unprecedented place in the sun as a result …” (more)

[University Times, 11 October]

“Sir, – I note with interest your article on the Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris’s declaration that we must end the ‘snobby obsession’ of schools with universities (News, October 9th). The print media have been driving this obsession for years …” (more)

[Chris Horan, Irish Times, 12 October]