3rd Level Education

The future of our universities is under threat due to a severe funding crisis in third-level education. This is short-term thinking with long-term negative consequences for the country.

Strategic planning requires time-frames of at least 3 to 5 years, ideally more. At the moment colleges must essentially rely on an allocation year by year, which is unknown in advance. This impoverishes access programmes for vulnerable students and cripples critical research and educational initiatives. The multi annual increases of Budget 2025 are far short of what is required.

Meanwhile, a substantial surplus in the National Training Fund remains untapped. This resource could provide the stability and investment horizon Ireland's higher education system urgently needs.