Ireland’s universities: tackle funding gap urgently

Irish Universities Association pressures government to deliver on its €307 million commitment

Ireland’s universities have urged the country’s government to work faster to close the higher education funding gap by providing more cash to cover public sector pay awards, as student-staff ratios worsen.

In a pre-budget submission, called Bridging the Funding Gap and Building for the Future, the Irish Universities Association says a failure to provide sufficient funds for national pay awards agreed by government has exacerbated the €307 million funding shortfall identified by the government in May 2022.