Dáil debates

Wednesday, 18 January 2017

Priority Questions

Third Level Funding

2:55 pm

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The report of the expert group on the future funding for higher education sets out a number of funding options for the sector with income contingent loans being just one of those options. Other options include a predominantly State-funded system or a State-funded system supplemented with continuing student fees.

As the Deputy is aware, the report is currently with the Oireachtas joint committee for consideration where each of the funding models will be examined and the process will include input from all stakeholders. I understand the Union of Students in Ireland is one of the groups which has made a submission.

It will be important to obtain political and societal consensus on achieving a sustainable funding model for the higher education sector in the future and my Department and I continue to work with the committee as it undertakes this important job. However, it is important to recognise, as the Cassells report has done, that doing nothing is not an option and that other measures to improve equality of access would also be necessary to complement any of the options outlined.

Funding overall for the higher education sector is a key concern for me, particularly in light of the additional pressure that will fall on the system over the next decade or so. That is why I am pleased that I have for the first time in nine years secured additional funding for the sector with an extra €36.5 million being made available this year and a projection for the coming years of increased resources amounting to €160 million in the next three years.

This includes an increase in the funding available to students from disadvantaged backgrounds and other under-represented groups to assist them in overcoming financial barriers to accessing and completing higher education.

In addition, in budget 2017, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and I announced a policy review with the aim of designing and implementing a sustainable and predictable multi-annual funding model for higher and further education and training involving increased employer and Exchequer contributions from 2018. The review will be undertaken as part of the overall response to meeting the anticipated skills needs in the economy over the coming years in line with the policy framework set out in the national skills strategy. It will include an analysis of the business case for enhanced investment in the higher and further education and training sectors and of the most effective funding mechanisms to deliver outcomes in respect of our ambitions in this area. In this context, it will identify key elements of the new funding model and of the expected impacts, including those on employers. It will also include consultation with stakeholders. It is expected that the review will be published by the end of April 2017 and will complement the ongoing work by the Oireachtas Committee in regard to the Cassells report.

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