Vol. 559 No. 6
40 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Education and Science if his attention has been drawn to the concerns expressed by the Council of Directors of Institutes of Technology that higher education faces a crisis in funding in 2003 which will see a cutback in services and staffing; the steps he is taking to address this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26703/02]
The Council of Directors of Institutes of Technology met recently with officials of my Department regarding the estimates provision for 2003. It has since written to me regarding its concerns about the level of funding for the technological sector. The recurrent allocation for the institutes of technology in 2003 is €372.9 million, which is approximately 1% less than the 2002 Estimates provision. The funding provision for 2003 was decided having regard to the current economic constraints and to the Government's commitments and priorities. It should be noted that in the last five years there has been a 95% increase in the provision for the technological sector as the recurrent grant increased from €192.7 million in 1997 to €376.1 million in 2002. In the circumstances it will be a matter for the institutes to manage their resources carefully in 2003 and where necessary to effect economies in order to keep expenditure within the approved budget.
