Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests. I also welcome Alex, who I hope finds this session interesting. I thank our guests for their opening statements, each of which spoke to what we need to do with the future funding model. My first question is for Mr. Jones from IFUT. He highlighted the impact that underfunding has had on the ranking of our institutes of higher education. In this committee, we have been slow to call out the impact that years of underfunding have had on performance. We know that because of the work of members of IFUT, other high standards have maintained in extremely difficult circumstances. However, it is important to accept that even with this great effort, we are inevitably being outperformed by better funded colleges. The student-staff ratio is much higher here than the OECD average. That will lead to a very serious impact on education and research output.

Mr. Jones also mentioned that the employment control framework extended from 2010 to 2014 and that it is still curtailing HEIs from offering full contracts. Perhaps we could examine that a little to see why that is the case and ask why, if the framework was to run from 2010 to 2014, it is still having an impact. We must also consider what is needed beyond adequate funding for the sector and what needs to be put in place to ensure, if and when the Government brings forward a sustainable funding model, that funding is reflected in better working conditions. The worst thing that could happen would be for us to have a new model but retain precarious working conditions. We need to make sure we bring change with us.

In his opening statement on behalf of ICTU, Mr. Byrne mentioned creeping privatisation, which is a very important point. Privatisation does not always happen in one big sale to a private company. It can happen, and has happened, over time and we have seen the impact of that. Do our guests believe we need a step change in how we fund higher education to protect and restore the public nature of third level education?

One of my great fears is privatisation, because it is a quick fix. We have seen it happen across the board in essential services, including healthcare and housing. Now we are seeing it in higher education. How do we collectively stop that?

My next question was sparked by the IRSA's submission. Over the last ten years, the higher education sector has been underfunded but one exception to this is Science Foundation Ireland. SFI sets up centres in colleges and works on specific projects or research areas. Has the SFI model impacted on the working conditions in the higher education sector?

In its submission, the TUI called for a 1% levy on corporation profits to adequately fund higher education. Is there a specific reason for applying this levy on profits rather than expanding the levy on payroll that currently exists for the National Training Fund?

Ms Austick said the relationship between student accommodation and adequate funding for higher education is vital. I agree with her on that. We have not had an update on the student accommodation strategy since 2019 and the housing crisis means accommodation is the single biggest barrier for anyone who needs to travel to third level. I am concerned about the rising cost of fuel and the impact that will have on those who have been forced to travel long distances. Do we need a new student accommodation strategy, focused on public ownership and affordability, to go along with the new funding model? There were a lot of questions there. Each witness will have about a minute to answer but maybe they can expand their answers later on.