Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 June 2015
1. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on recent comments by a person (details supplied) of the Higher Education Authority that due to the shortfall of capital and staff investment in the higher education system since 2012, it is not reasonable to expect universities and colleges to accept additional students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22322/15]
View answerI seek the Minister's views on the recent comments by the chief executive of the Higher Education Authority, Mr. Tom Boland, that owing to the shortfall in capital and staff investment in our higher education system since 2012, it is not reasonable to expect universities and colleges to accept additional students.
The reality of the economic situation and the public expenditure corrections which had to be made in recent years presented challenges across all areas of public expenditure, including higher education. The sector has responded well to these challenges and has continued to provide opportunities for increasing numbers of students wishing to undertake a higher education qualification. In recognition of the pressures that higher education institutions are under an expert group chaired by Peter Cassells has been established to examine future funding options for higher education. The objective is to identify a range of approaches which, combined, will achieve a sustainable funding base to address the continual expansion of the sector while protecting the quality of education. The group is due to report at the end of this year and its report will help inform decisions on future funding for the sector. I believe that seeking to pre-empt the conclusions of the group at this stage is unhelpful.
I am disappointed by the anaemic detail provided in the Minister's response. There is a real crisis in our third level sector. As pointed out by Mr. Boland in his commentary, there has been a 15% increase in third level student numbers over the past five years and alongside that, a 12% reduction in staff numbers. Overall, there was a 24% reduction, per student, in State funding during that period, leading to real pressures across the college system and a deterioration in pupil-teacher ratios. Undoubtedly, this has put massive pressure on the sector and has affected the quality of third level education. Meanwhile, the Government refuses to address this issue, to be up-front about it or even acknowledge it. As in the case of other issues, this can is being kicked down the road. The Government has sought reports previously from the Higher Education Authority but has failed to act on them.
A question, Deputy.
I understand the group chaired by Mr. Cassells will not report until the end of this year. I seek the views of the Minister on the comments of the HEA chief executive on whether it is acceptable to continue to expect colleges to accept further students without provision of the necessary funding to cater for them. I ask the Minister to address that specific point.
As Deputy McConalogue knows, there has been pressure across all sectors of the education system as well as across all Departments because of the need to cut funding over the past number of years. The Deputy knows well why that was the case. The higher education sector has responded well to the increased student numbers and continues to provide an excellent education for people in Ireland wishing to go on to higher education. Internationally, comparisons are very good. Ireland has a very high reputation in terms of its higher education and a high transfer of young people from post-primary to higher education. I attended an international conference in University College Dublin last night at which the response, generally, from the international guests regarding the quality of education in Ireland at higher level was very positive.
I commend the universities and institutes of technology for what they have done with the reduced funding, which was an inevitable consequence of the economic crash and they know that. As I said previously, as soon as we are in recovery, we will start to look at putting some money back into all sectors in education. We got an increase in our budget last year but we are still not in a position to put significant moneys back into the education sector. That is the reality. Mr. Cassells's report will inform where we go in the future.
We all recall the promise made by the Labour Party in advance of the last general election, namely, that it would reduce the student contribution fee to €1,500. Instead, what has happened is that each student attending third level education is now being asked to pay €3,000, which is twice the fee to which the Labour Party committed prior to the last general election. Also, not one euro of the additional €1,500 which students are now being charged over and above what the Labour Party promised they would be charged goes to the third level sector. It is being absorbed into the general Exchequer. Meanwhile, the students who are now paying more for their education are experiencing a reduced service. Student services have been cut radically because colleges do not have the funding to provide them. Students are also faced with increased pupil-teacher ratios as a result of reductions in staff.
Given the expected 30% increase in third level student numbers over the next 15 years the current situation is not sustainable and must be addressed by Government. The CEO of the Higher Education Authority has indicated to Government that this is simply not manageable and that additional funding is required. This is not an issue the Government can continue to kick down the road until after the next general election. We need a real and meaningful indication of what additional funding will be provided to cater for those additional students and real action to address the crisis facing the third level sector.
The expert group has been established in recognition of the fact that the current situation may not be sustainable into the future. As I said earlier, the group will report at the end of this year, following which we will examine the options put forward. I agree with the Deputy that we need to plan for the future.
On the contribution from students, my predecessor made it clear that the fee would increase gradually year-on-year until it reached €3,000. That was made clear a couple of years ago and that is what is happening.
However, the expert group is designed to ensure we look to, and plan for, the future so whoever is in Government after the next election will have clear guidance as to how we fund higher education into the future.
It must be said that the sector has responded very well to the economic difficulties that every sector across every Department has had to confront. If one contrasts, for example, the situation in Britain with the situation here, the position of students here is not as financially pressured as it is for students in Britain. This is an issue that confronts other countries as well. We have put this expert group in place and it is doing really good work. I have already received an interim report from the group and it will make proposals for the future. As soon as we receive that report, we will debate it and make plans for the future.
