Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is important to say that we are seeing a significant expansion of the number of people working in the higher education sector. The control framework the Deputy referred to is updated annually following the Estimates process. The key driver is what annual budget is agreed for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, which then makes its way down to the higher education institutes. A 4,500 headcount increase, or 18% in six years, is significant. Since 2015 the annual expenditure allocated to higher education has increased by more than 40% and this year the allocation will be approximately €2.4 billion, which is the highest it has ever been, higher even than the previous peak funding levels in 2008. It is a substantial increase from the low point of planned expenditure in 2015 and the Deputy will be aware of many of the highlights within that, including €420 million being allocated to student supports such as SUSI grants. We have agreed the NDP, with significant annual increases for the Department to roll out the capital programme across the higher education institutes.

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