The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has called for an increase in state funding for higher education following publication today of a Report ‘Delivering for Ireland: An Impact Assessment of Irish Universities’, commissioned by the Irish Universities Association (IUA).  

Frank Jones, Deputy General Secretary of IFUT, in welcoming the report said that a key finding is that the Irish University sector has, in 2017/18, contributed almost €9billion to the Irish economy, all on a state investment of around €1billion.  

“The problem is that state investment in the sector has not increased in any real way since 2000, yet student numbers have soared by 50%,” he said.

“This report, the first of its nature, looks not only at the financial benefits to Ireland brought about by and through the University sector but also assesses the strong social and cultural impacts that the sector has on Ireland overall.”

“The only conclusion is that the quite miserly government financial investment in the university sector gives the state a greater 'bang for its buck' than any other type of state investment.”  

“The Government now clearly, with the rejection of two out of the three funding options proposed in the 2016 Cassells report, and supported by data in the Report, has no alternative but to substantially increase higher education funding in the next Budget, to ensure future viability for colleges, staff and students alike,” Frank Jones said.

ENDS

For further information on this media release please contact:
Frank Jones, Deputy General Secretary, IFUT  Tel.  087 2436042
John Gallagher,  John Gallagher Consulting     Tel.  087 9369888