Ninth Level Ireland

“Further and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has ruled out a rise in the €3,000 student charge as part of the upcoming third-level funding reform package. Mr Harris has already dismissed the idea of loans as a way of raising the charge by deferring the financial pain through a ‘study-now, pay later’ approach …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 14 October]

“Pay increases for public servants will cost around €600 million next year, according to a Government document. A Budget 2022 expenditure report details the financial impact of the public service pay agreement, ‘Building Momentum’ …” (more)

[Anne-Marie Walsh, Independent, 14 October]

“The investment in higher education and research announced in Budget 2022, while welcome, is not sufficient to address the core funding deficit in the sector. The provision of dedicated funding for extra places and for student supports is welcome. However …” (more)

[IUA, 12 October]

“Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, and Minister of State for Skills and Further Education, Niall Collins, have today announced a series of measures as part of Budget 2022. The package includes …” (more)

[DFHERIS, 12 October]

“The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and the Irish Universities Association (IUA) have expressed disappointment Budget 2022, arguing that more needs to be done for the third-level sector …” (more)

[Mairead Maguire, University Times, 12 October]

“Student grants will rise by a flat rate €200 from next September. The ‘across the board’ increase will benefit about 62,000 students who receive maintenance support to help with cost-of-living increases …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 12 October]

“The first increase in student grants in more than a decade will be announced in tomorrow’s Budget. Agreement has been reached on raising grant levels as well as changing the eligibility criteria to allow more students to fall within qualifying income thresholds …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 11 October]

“Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Rose Conway-Walsh TD, has brought forward proposals in her party’s alternative budget that include reducing fees for all and extending SUSI support to 15,000 additional students while also tackling the issue of core funding. Teachta Conway-Walsh said …” (more)

[Sinn Féin, 8 October]

“The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) is to call for the student contribution charge to be reduced by €1,000 in its submission to the government ahead of Budget 2022 …” (more)

[Mairead Maguire, University Times, 5 October]

“The Irish Universities Association (IUA) has called on the government to substantially increase investment in higher education and research as part of the post-COVID, post-Brexit national recovery. The IUA has outlined a comprehensive range of measures in a €900m+ package including €418m in extra core funding and a €490m capital expenditure programme for the sector …” (more)

[IUA, 15 September]

“The Irish Universities Association (IUA) has called on the government to inject €900 million into the third-level sector ahead of the announcement of Budget 2022 next month. The lobby group’s pre-budget submission asks for over €418 million in extra core funding and a €490 million capital expenditure programme, with the aim of aiding in economic recovery after the pandemic and Brexit …” (more)

[Mairead Maguire, University Times, 15 September]

“Universities have lost €270m in commercial revenue because of Covid, income on which they rely to fund their operations. They say they are also bearing additional costs as a result of the pandemic and eight universities now have a combined projected deficit of €40m. The figures are set out in the Irish Universities Association (IUA) pre-Budget submission, which calls for extra funding of at least €900m …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 15 September]

“The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has called on the government to include provisions for colleges to provide their own student accommodation instead of relying on private, college-affiliated accommodation. Speaking on Newstalk’s Lunchtime Live yesterday, USI President Clare Austick said: ‘We want to see a clear commitment and urgent action from the government to commit to a plan on accommodation to ensure that people all across the country have access to accommodation’ …” (more)

[Emer Moreau, University Times, 27 July]

“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide additional information on the €20 million in budget 2021 for SUSI that will see the funding returned to 2019 levels; the projections on demand upon which this is based; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 15 December]

“The creation of a dedicated Department for Higher Education earlier this year was met with much fanfare by those in the sector who had been advocating for such a move for years. The existence of the dedicated department has already proven useful, with the Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris already providing increased third-level spaces to deal with the inflated leaving certificate grades and promising to prioritise hot-topic issues such as on-campus sexual assault …” (more)

[University Times, 18 October]

“The provision of €50m extra supports for students and the confirmation of ongoing funding for the extra 5,000 places in higher education in addition to further demographically-driven places next year are welcome features of Budget 2021 …” (more)

[IUA, 13 October]

“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]