Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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94. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the average per capita spending allocation to universities and institutes of technology; and the basis on which different per capita allocations are made. [36686/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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My Department allocates the total recurrent funding allocation to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the HEA designated higher education institutions (HEIs) including the Universities and Institutes of Technology. The HEA allocates the funding (block grant funding) to institutions and it is then a matter for the individual institution as to how that funding is allocated internally. The HEA allocates the available funding based on a Recurrent Grant Allocation Model which is driven primarily by student numbers weighted by the relative costs of providing education in different disciplines with additional performance mechanisms built in to reflect outcomes such as those relating to access, skills-based provision and research.

Total core funding available to HEIs includes the block grant funding, student contributions, tuition fees and other income sources e.g. private funding. In 2015 funding per student amounted to an estimated €9,500 per full-time student.