Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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492. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the €600 million base funding requirement in higher education institutions by 2021 identified by the Cassells report includes the €124 million that has been set aside from the calculation of the fiscal space for demographic increases in third level in 2018 and 2019. [27229/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The core funding figure for higher education of an additional €600 million annually by 2021 is recommended in the report of the Expert Group on Future Funding For Higher Education. This level of funding is required in order to deliver higher quality outcomes and to provide for increased demographics, with the funding for increased demographics understood to be of the order of €160m.

Following the publication of the Expert Group’s report, I took immediate steps to increase funding for higher education to address, inter alia, rising demographics, with an additional €36.5 million being secured in 2017. Provision is also being made in the Department’s expenditure ceiling in 2018 and 2019  for further investment and, cumulatively, in the period 2017 – 2019 this represents an additional €160 million Exchequer investment in higher education. Elements of this multi-annual funding provision will continue to be directed at meeting the costs of demographic increases.