Pat Casey (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to the Chamber for our second Commencement matter.

Tom Clonan (Independent)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach. I wish to raise the shortfall in funding for our higher institutes of education and third level sector, which is at €307 million. I welcome the additional allocation of €60 million in the budget yesterday. That is a very welcome development. Last year, it was only €40 million. If we are to continue at that rate, however, it will take up to a decade to address the shortfall in third level funding.

I want to specifically address the impact that is having on one particular university, namely, Trinity College Dublin, TCD. It is in the heart of the city. People pass by it every day but do not realise that it is actually part of the fabric of the city and the republic. A total of 22,000 students attend TCD just down the road. Unfortunately, however, because of some of the lowest capitation grants in the OECD, it has one of the highest student to lecturer ratios in the European Union. The average throughout the OECD is 17 students per lecturer. In TCD at the moment, it is 23:1.

I went to Trinity College in 1984 when the country was an economic basket case. Obviously, I was only 11 or 12 at the time. The country was an economic basket case and we had mass emigration. However, it was better funded in the 1980s than it is now. We really have to be cognisant of the impact this is having. Trinity College has been there for 431 years in the heart of the city. It is part of the engine of Ireland's economic recovery. To that end, I would highlight institutes like the centre for research on adaptive nanostructures and nanodevices, CRANN, which is a world-leading centre for nanotechnology and nonodevices. It is making a real material contribution to Irish economic outputs both at home and abroad. Then, we have institutions like the Trinity College institute of neuroscience, which is doing groundbreaking work and making over-the-horizon discoveries in the area of neuroscience. We all know somebody who has either a Parkinson's or dementia-related illness. It is something that impacts every family in the State. One that is very close to my heart is the Trinity St. James's cancer institute, which is carrying out pioneering research into individualised and sometimes gene-based therapies to deal with cancers. We are all probably aware at this stage of the great strides that are being made but they are being made because of institutes like that. I think of the gross blunt treatment of radiation treatment and chemotherapy that has been used in the past, which did not work for everybody. In particular, I think of somebody like my sister, Pauline, who passed away at the age of 43 from breast cancer, and my mum who passed away from cancer. The cancers they had are very treatable today. They would be alive today were it not for the treatments that were available at the time. They were unlucky with the very aggressive tumours they had. This is the kind of work Trinity College is doing.

With the massive budget surpluses we have, it really behoves the Government to invest in TCD and the other institutes of higher education to meet that shortfall. We are the only English-speaking country in the EU. Ireland, and Dublin, should be a destination of choice for massive international investment in terms of the arrival of researchers, but also research funding coming not just from the research grant agencies in the EU and domestically but also from private industry. They want to innovate. They want to see entrepreneurs. It is not just the economy that would benefit but the whole of Irish society.

Finally, the student experience is so important. This is mental health week. I heard the Minister of State speak about it very eloquently. Our student population in Trinity College is really suffering. The student experience is not what it used to be. That investment would really help that experience.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris. I am happy to provide an update on the funding of higher education. I accept that the Senator acknowledged the funding that was provided yesterday in budget 2024.

Since the formation of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science by this Government, there has been a significant improvement in funding to the higher education sector. As announced yesterday, budget 2024 provides a significant increase in funding for higher education with €195 million in additional funding to be allocated to the sector in 2023 and 2024. This funding will lead to increased staffing levels and enhanced support services for students. It will also expand the capabilities of our higher education institutions to deliver on priority skills needs and the further development of tertiary programmes. It includes €60 million under Funding the Future, which builds on the €40 million delivered in last year's budget and is aligned with the intention that over a number of years, further additional core funding will be prioritised through the Estimates process while taking account of the Government's budgetary and fiscal stance. It brings the total committed core funding as part of Funding the Future to €100 million over the two budgets.

It would be remiss of me not to also speak about the reduction in student fees that was announced yesterday, which is really welcome. I was contacted by many people even across my own family yesterday evening and by others through my constituency office who, in some cases, have two students in university. That is very welcome.

The level of increase, particularly in light of other demands on Exchequer funding, demonstrates the Government's commitment to the sector to enable it to fully realise its potential. As part of budget 2024, the Government has provided funding to enhance the number of medicine places for Irish and EU students and for strategic healthcare places, which will facilitate further expansion from September 2024. Funding has also been secured for pay and pensions in the higher education sector and other non-pay costs.

In March 2022, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science published Funding the Future, which the Senator addressed, which recognised a funding shortfall of €307 million for the higher education sector.As announced yesterday, budget 2024 brings the total additional funding allocated under Funding the Future to €100 million in just two budgets. This is in addition to additional funding provided to meet other demands in the sector including demographic pressures and additional pay costs arising from public sector pay agreements. A significant uplift of more than 1,500 core funded posts was also approved this year for the sector in line with increased funding which will enhance student to staff ratios. Senator Clonan spoke about that. I think he said it is 23:1 in Trinity.

Funding the Future confirmed that a mixed funding model would be adopted to ensure the sustainable funding of higher education into the future. This comprises a mix of Exchequer investment, employer contributions through the National Training Fund and student contributions. Funding the Future outlines an ambitious programme of reform, centred on improving quality, driving skills and engagement, enhancing student participation and creating a more unified third level system.

Senator Clonan also spoke about the student experience in third level education. So many students missed that during Covid as they did not get the same experience in those important couple of years. Some students are now graduating who missed a couple of years for that reason.

Tom Clonan (Independent)
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I welcome Sally-Anne Fisher from the senior leadership team in Trinity College and Zaid Al-Barghouthi and Ahlan Wa Sahlan from the Union of Students in Ireland. They are very welcome. It is an issue that impacts not just the institutions themselves but also the student population, as the Minister of State alluded to. As she is aware, I have three adult children myself, who are attending university. If we want to have the Nobel prize winners of the future, which we absolutely need for the economy and the development of our Republic, the Samuel Becketts and so on, we must enhance the student experience. That is by way of addressing this deficit and shortfall. We have the money to do it now. To quote a well-known economist and, of late, a Member of this House, it is a no-brainer. We really need to invest in the third level sector.

If possible, I might seek a meeting between the Minister and the Provost of Trinity to discuss the particular impact it is having on the college, which is in the top 100 university rankings in the world, despite all the challenges. That is a testament to the staff and the team there for all the pro bonoextra work they do, but they do need help. It would be useful to have a face-to-face meeting.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I cannot answer for the Minister, but I am sure if Senator Clonan writes to his office such a meeting would be considered.

He is correct that Trinity College Dublin rose in two major world rankings published this year from 161st to 134th in the Times Higher Education, THE, rankings and, quite rightly, from 98th to 81st in the QS World University Rankings, which is very significant. After being outside the top 100 in the QS rankings from 2018- 22, it is very significant that, as Senator Clonan says, it re-entered the top 100 last year, and climbed a further 17 places this year. While useful, these rankings provide a limited view of the higher education system. They do not take into account, for example, the student experience or the broader social role played by higher education institutions in supporting access and tackling educational disadvantage.

In closing, I would like to confirm the Government's commitment to a right-sized appropriately funded higher education system. The best option for Senator Clonan is to write to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, to see if he can facilitate a meeting.

Tom Clonan (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State.