The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has welcomed an Oireachtas Joint Committee report which includes an examination of the needs of those in precarious employment and atypical contracts in higher education. 

Frank Jones, General Secretary of IFUT, said that the report, ‘The Future Funding of Higher Education’ from the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has taken on board a number of key points made previously by IFUT in its submission to the Committee’s work.

In particular the committee recommendation that “issues of staffing levels and precarious employment… need to be reviewed urgently by end of 2022 at the latest” is a welcome response to the issues IFUT had raised directly with the committee.

The report also states it is “imperative that Irish Universities ensure that their research staff have employment contracts that offer security of tenure, career progression pathways and salary scales that are commensurate with their qualifications and experience.”

Frank Jones said that “the continuing increase in student numbers, expected to continue to soar for the remainder of this decade, requires funding to support these key recommendations.  The report concludes that a reformed funding system is urgently required for higher education and IFUT call for this issue to be addressed immediately.  

Frank Jones said “It is now imperative that the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform release the purse strings and deliver adequate funding in the forthcoming budget to address the financial starvation of higher education.

“This will enable the delivery of a sustainable higher education system and ensure that students and teaching staff alike are enabled to achieve the maximum educational outcomes at both a personal and institutional level, while also ensuring that higher education remains able to deliver the highest standards of teaching to continue to support Ireland’s economic and social development.” he said.

ENDS

For further information on this media release please contact:

John Gallagher, John Gallagher Consulting, Tel 087 9369888