Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 107: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if his attention has been drawn to a discussion paper from the Higher Education Authority on funding for universities here; if his attention has been drawn to the HEA's proposal to sanction universities here should they fail to raise some of their funding from the private sector; if the paper recommends much tighter control of university spending by the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14351/04]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The Higher Education Authority has published a consultation document as part of a review of the recurrent funding model currently in operation in the universities. According to the Higher Education Authority, the aim is to put a revised funding model in place which will enable increasingly autonomous and market driven institutions to respond to public interest agendas, at national, international and regional levels, while also taking a greater responsibility for their own financial sustainability.

I welcome the initiative of the Higher Education Authority in conducting this review. The Deputy will be aware that I have invited the OECD to conduct an extensive review of higher education in Ireland in order to map a future strategy for the sector. This is set against a background of Ireland's strategic objective to place its higher education system in the top rank of the OECD in terms of both quality and level of participation and by the priority to create a world class research, development and innovation capacity and infrastructure in Ireland. The OECD review will evaluate how well the Irish higher education sector is meeting these strategic objectives and will offer recommendations for future progress by reference to comparative performance in other OECD countries.

The role of Exchequer funding in rewarding and incentivising progress on broad policy objectives and in encouraging innovation at institutional level is clearly an important element of this. The responses to the HEA consultation document will make an important contribution to dialogue on the next steps forward in this regard.