Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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1091. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for payment structures to higher education institutes in circumstances in which institutions decide to opt for a blended or whole-time online delivery of programmes; if a whole-time online or blended programme will result in a reduced payment by the Higher Education Authority to the individual higher education institutes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32029/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The delivery method of programmes in the first instance is a matter for the institutions, as autonomous bodies to consider.

My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to HEA designated higher education institutions. The HEA allocates this funding to the institutions via the recurrent funding model.

The costs associated with any blended delivery methods of higher education programmes and the appropriate allocations of funding would be considered within the context of the review of the HEA allocation models for Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) across the entire higher education sector.

In 2016, the HEA appointed an independent Expert Panel to review the current allocation model for funding higher education and to make recommendations on the most appropriate funding model for the future. The completed review recommends reforms to the HEA funding distribution model.

A key recommendation of the RFAM report is the development of a Costing Model applied consistently across Higher Education Institutes (at present, there is some differentiation in the costing approach as between the Universities and the Technological Universities; Institutes of Technology). The review recommends moving away from the current ‘two-pot’ funding approach (with fixed proportionate allocations to universities/specialist colleges and institutes of technology) and towards a universal approach to supporting all higher education institutions.

This will involve the standard student-driven methodology determining base allocations, and a broadly universal set of metrics for research and innovation support, with individual adjustments and targeted funds ensuring that sufficient incentives remain to protect and to reinforce the diversity of different individual missions.

Recommendation 7 of the report identifies that the design of this new model will be informed by a short, focused review to establish a single, shared costing approach to be implemented across all higher education institutions. Deloitte were appointed by HEA in 2019 to undertake a scoping exercise on an appropriate model.

In 2021, the HEA working with my Department, DPER and sector representatives will commence development of a conceptual framework on the journey towards adoption of a Universal Costing System applying across the entire Higher Education Sector.