Ms Br?d Horan:

I thank the committee for the invitation to speak to it. I will concentrate primarily on the funding issues but I wholeheartedly endorse the comments made by the speakers who have preceded me. Their contributions have been interesting and important.

Ireland benefits enormously from having a young, well-educated workforce. That drives our economic growth and benefits individuals, employers, society and the State. Higher education is a critical pillar of economic success and of vital services, including education and health. Furthermore, research intensive universities play a valuable role in addressing societal challenges, as we have seen over the past two years. In spite of this, the sector faces potentially existential challenges due to sustained underfunding, particularly over the past ten years. As a nation, we need to reframe our view of funding higher education to one of investing in our social and economic future. To quote DCU president, Professor Daire Keogh, investing in higher education is investing in the ultimate renewable resource: our young people.

I have been acutely aware of this issue since working on the expert group that was mentioned by Dr. Doris. That group was chaired by Mr. Peter Cassells. The report of the group is generally referred to as the Casells report. That 2016 report highlighted the serious gaps that have already been referred to in core and capital funding and the risks of not addressing them. Dr. Doris has given the committee the numbers involved. If one accumulates the gaps in funding that have not been addressed since 2016, we already have a combined deficit in core and capital funding of over €4 billion. That underfunding is being felt within the system. The group also recommended an additional €100 million in student support funding. Those issues have also been well highlighted by previous speakers.

There has been limited additional funding in recent years, largely from an increased national training levy on employers. That is one of the Cassells group recommendations that has been implemented. This extra funding has generally been allocated on a competitive basis and targeted towards specific initiatives. The downside of that is that winning funding requires additional activity and spending by the successful institution. While welcome, it does not address the inadequate basic funding.

I believe the committee's main focus should be on core and capital funding levels for ongoing costs and essential infrastructure. This basic funding has been diluted by a number of factors, including the severe funding cuts following the financial crisis over ten years ago and the dramatic increase in student numbers. That increase was entirely foreseen, given demographic trends, and was projected in the Cassells report. That increase is projected to continue until 2030. In spite of the increase in student numbers, staff numbers have been controlled throughout the period. The staff to student ratio, which is widely recognised measure of quality, has increased in Ireland, leaving us well behind other countries. In 2019, the average staff to student ratio in both OECD and EU countries was 15:1 while in Ireland, it was 23:1, which is a dramatic difference.

Another negative factor has been so-called top slicing from overall funding, which means allocating funding to particular initiatives on a competitive basis among institutions and typically involving additional activity and spending within the institution. That top slicing is taken from the overall Exchequer allocation, leaving less for core and essential costs.

These combined effects have eroded quality and undermined the sustainability of the sector.

As a country, we have been layering partially funded initiatives onto an underfunded base. The status quoin terms of funding our higher education system is not a cost-free option. The funding gaps I have outlined reduce the quality of teaching and learning and of the student experience. They limit the participation of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and endanger career opportunities for Irish graduates in what is a very competitive and mobile labour market. Ultimately, they threaten the overall contribution of higher education to our public services, and to Irish economic and social life and to our future development.

We need to protect Ireland’s reputation as offering a well-educated workforce. We need to properly fund the institutions providing that resource. These institutions can then be both supported and challenged to be genuinely world class and to give our students the opportunities they deserve. That said, I fully recognise the competing demands for public resources to address challenges such as housing, climate change, and health services, and that household incomes are severely strained. Nevertheless, for our future, we must invest in higher education to support our continued social and economic success and to create a sustainable, innovative, and high-quality future. That investment, combined with the committed leadership and staff that I have witnessed in the higher education sector and, of course, our talented students, will deliver Ireland’s ambitious national goals. I again thank the committee for the invitation to take part.