Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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43. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if it has been brought to his attention that a president has not been appointed to the University of Galway; how long the position has been vacant; if the process to recruit a president has started; when it is expected that the process will conclude; what engagement the Minister has had with the university in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14548/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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In line with Section 24 of the Universities Act, 1997, the Governing Authority is responsible for the appointment of a person to be the chief officer (President) of its university. The Minister has no role in this process.

The position of President in the University of Galway has been vacant since Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh resigned from his position on September 6th 2024. Professor Peter McHugh was appointed Interim President of the University of Galway by the Governing Authority; his term commenced on 7^th September 2024.

The Department has been informed that the process to recruit the next President, being led by the University Governing Authority, Údarás na hOllscoile, is well underway, having commenced in July 2024 upon receipt of notice from the former President. The relevant committees of the Governing Authority have been established to run the process (a Presidency Working Group - Meitheal Uachtaránachta, Search and Selection Committees), and an Executive Search Agency has been procured to assist with the recruitment process.

It is planned that the campaign to recruit a new President will be publicly advertised in the next week and will remain open for a six week period. It is intended that an appointment will be made by the end of July 2025, following a selection process.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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44. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills what will be done to address the annual funding gap of €307 million for higher education which had been identified by the previous Government in May 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14625/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The Funding the Future Framework published in May 2022, outlines the vision for how higher education will be funded and how this will support students, employers and wider society. The Framework identified an amount of €307 million as representing the quantum of increase in core funding required to deliver enhanced performance, strategic reforms and strengthened quality of outcomes.

Over a number of years, additional core funding is being prioritised through the Estimates process in order to deliver on the increased level of funding identified in this framework and to provide enhanced system capacity to respond to national priorities.

The enhanced higher education system performance to be delivered in return for increased investment under Funding the Future is to be aligned to strategic priorities defined in the framework, alongside parallel efforts to address the cost of education as a barrier to participation.

Over the three budgets since the publication of Funding the Future, an additional €164.4 million has been secured in exchequer and employer funding with a commitment to deliver a further €100 million by 2030 from the National Training Fund (NTF). The €164.4 million figure includes €58.7 million that was secured in Budget 2025 for Funding the Future.

The €58.7m in additional core funding secured in Budget 2025 will create space for higher education institutions to increase staffing levels and capacity, enable a greater alignment of provision with priority skills needs and facilitate the further development of tertiary programmes.

It is anticipated that further additional exchequer funding will be secured in future estimates processes to deliver on commitments, including on priorities such as healthcare places and tertiary programmes.