From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
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The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, has today launched 'Funding the Future' – a landmark policy on the future of higher education.
Funding the Future, which was approved for publication by Government yesterday, settles the question on funding Higher Education.
Today, the government has decided that student loans will not form part of the future funding model. Instead, the government is committing to a multi-funded model of additional Exchequer investment and employer contributions through the National Training Fund. Student contributions will be gradually reduced.
A core funding gap of €307 million has been identified. Funding for future demographic growth and new policy proposals will be in addition to this.
The Minister will progress measures to reduce the cost of education for students and families through changes to the Student Grant Scheme and student contributions over time. This will be advanced through the publication of an annual assessment on reducing the cost of education for students and families to inform annual budget processes.
Speaking today, Minister Harris said:
“Today is an important day for the future of our country as we set out the vision and direction of higher education funding in this country.
“We are confirming our commitment to addressing legacy issues in higher education and detailing our ambitious plans for investment and reform.
“Crucially, I also set out my response to the increasing cost of third level education. Cost cannot and should not be a barrier to accessing education.
“It is my firm intention to take the pressure off families and listen to the calls of our younger generations. Measures to reduce the cost of education through changes to the Student Grant Scheme and the student contribution will be on the table for the coming budgets.
“As always, the people we serve are central to all we do. Today, we settle the question on higher education funding. We will increase our investment. We will also support our students.”
The planned investment of €307 million as part of Funding the Future, and which is in addition to the current €2 billion annual spend on Higher Education in Ireland, will focus on improving the quality of programmes, their outcomes, and providing a third-level education system which is accessible to everyone in society.
The Funding the Future papers also commit to reducing the cost of higher education for students through changes to the Student Grant Scheme and the student contribution. The Minister will continue to prioritise students who have the highest levels of financial difficulty.
As part of these proposals, the department will seek to simplify the Student Grant Scheme. It will also conduct an analysis of part-time courses with a view to introducing statutory supports for part-time students.
This policy is in response to 2 independent reports carried out. The first is the European Commission report into funding Higher Education and an Independent Review of the Student Grant Scheme. Both can be found here:
Minister Harris added:
“Ireland’s further and higher education, training and research system is a strategic national asset which is essential to achieving a knowledge-based, innovative, creative society and economy.
“Through reform and investment, I am confident that we will deliver on this together to achieve the best for our society, for our country and for our future.”
The Minister also confirmed he will chair a new oversight group to drive reforms. This will focus on creating a unified system and improving pathways between further and higher education.
This will be co-chaired by Professor Tom Collins and Professor Anne Looney.
Minister of State for Skills, Niall Collins, said:
“In order to meet the demands of our economy, we need to properly fund higher education. Today, we are ending a 10-year question by committing to address legacy issues, increase investment and reform the sector.
“We are also outlining our policies on reducing the cost of education. Access to education is a fundamental right and we must do everything we can to remove barriers.”
Over the last 10 years, there has been a significant increase in the number of students attending further and higher education in Ireland.
In 2010, 200,000 students attended higher education in Ireland. By 2020, 245,000 people had enrolled in publicly funded higher education colleges.
Since 2016, there has been significant public re-investment in higher education of €1.1 billion, an increase of over 40%.
This has included targeted investments, for example the Human Capital Initiative funded through the National Training Fund.
Today, the government has decided that income contingent loans for fees will not form part of the future funding model.
Instead, the government is committing to a multi-funded model. This model will be a mix of additional Exchequer investment, employer contributions through the National Training Fund and student contributions. The Minister has signaled his intention to review the student contribution with the aim of reducing it over time, subject to budgetary processes.
Planned additional investment of €307 million to address the core funding challenges will be made over a number of years through annual budgetary processes. This does not account for future demographic needs or new policy proposals for higher education.
The department will continue to invest in higher education in tandem with the reform programme.
Everyone should be able to access third level education. Cost should not be a barrier.
Over the past 2 years, financial pressures have been addressed through changes to the Student Grant Scheme and by the injection of increased funding into the Student Assistance Fund, in recognition of the added pressures associated with COVID-19. This includes:
The Minister will continue to prioritise students who have the highest levels of financial difficulty. The Minister is also committed to the extension of supports to postgraduate education and to enable more flexible forms of learning including blended/online and part-time.
Further measures will be considered on an annual basis as part of the Estimates process.
The current contribution fee to attend university is currently €3,000.
The State pays the student contribution in full or part for nearly 65,000 university students. Over the course of a number of Budgets, the Minister is committed to reviewing the levels of the student contribution.
During the summer in advance of each year’s Budget, the department will publish a paper outlining potential options and impacts related to the cost of education. The Student Grant scheme and other programmes related to student supports and costs of higher education, will be reviewed taking into account the priorities identified in the Student Grant Scheme Review.
This is an exciting time for higher education in Ireland. The Minister is prioritising more funding for universities, new technological universities in the regions and an ongoing reduction in student costs as well as increase in student supports.
Addressing the funding gap and enhancing student supports will be critical to enabling a number of key reforms in the delivery of higher education.
The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science will convene a high-level Higher Education Reform Implementation Review Group to drive reform in this area. The Group will ensure investment is used effectively. It will focus on improving the quality of programmes and learning outcomes and better verification of outcomes and costs through data to ensure value for money.
The government has identified these strategic outcomes as a priority:
Greater linkage between existing further education, higher education and research sectors, leading to an enhanced overall system with a more complementary range of choices to facilitate learners.
More people from underrepresented groups attend higher education. A New National Access Plan will be launched shortly. This will provide funding and supports for priority groups who are underrepresented in higher education and in particular higher education programmes. These include socio-economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, care-experienced young people, lone parents and members of the Traveller and Roma communities.
This will be progressed by reducing the ratio of students to academic staff to comparable EU and OECD norms.
Reinforce alignment of sector with skills needs of the country, with a particular focus on supporting the delivery of essential public services.
This will be developed to facilitate equity and transparency for the system.
The Higher Education Authority Bill 2022 will be enacted representing the most comprehensive reform of HEA and university governance (governing authorities, student role, policies and procedures, financial management) in 50 years.
Funding the Future was created as part of a Department of Further and Higher Education, Research and Innovation response to the commissioned independent Indecon report Increasing the Sustainability of Higher and Further Education in Ireland. The independent review of Student Grant Scheme, conducted by Indecon International Economic Consultants was commissioned by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research and Innovation in response to a Programme for Government commitment to review SUSI eligibility criteria, adjacency rates and postgraduate grant supports.