Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 November 2018
234. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to fund the third level education sector; the way in which he will address the recent years of serious underfunding of the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46853/18]
View answerMy Department is working to continue re-investment in Higher Education building on the progress made in Budgets 2017 and 2018. Current expenditure on higher education, excluding pay restoration and pension provision, will increase by 10% in 2019 compared to 2016. We are adopting a number of measures to address the financial challenges in higher education and to ensure that higher education investment is responsive to key strategic priorities.
Budget 2019 continued the Government’s prioritisation of reinvestment in higher education. Through the budget, we have provided €57 million in additional current funding for the higher education sector. This is in addition to separate funding that has been provided for pay deals and pensions, amounting to an additional €41 million in 2019.
This new current funding will be used to fund the following measures:
- provision for 3,500 additional places in our higher education institutions
- initiatives to support innovation and reward excellence
- investment in teaching and learning capacity, and management and leadership
- 1,000 additional places on Springboard+,
- a new research fund for Institutes of Technology/TUs, and
- an expansion of part-time and flexible learning opportunities.
Budget 2019 also announced a new Human Capital Initiative that will involve investment of €300 million in higher education over the 5 year period from 2020 to 2024, with €60 million being made available in each of those years. This investment will be funded by the National Training Fund surplus. A major objective of the Initiative is to incentivise continued reform and innovation drawing on international best practice through such mechanisms as graduate conversion, accelerated course completion, flexible and blended learning, intensified focus on employability and strengthened linkages and relationships with enterprise. It represents a significant response to projected demographic pressures impacting on the HE sector over the next five years, as highlighted in the Expert Group Report on Future Funding.
The National Training Fund is being reformed to make it more labour market focused, responsive to skills needs and providing additional investment in Further and Higher Education. Progress in implementing reforms has enabled an increase in the NTF levy by 0.1% respectively in both 2018 and 2019, with a commitment to a further 0.1% increase in 2020.
In order to build a political consensus regarding a future approach to funding the higher Education Sector the Minister for Education and Skills referred the expert group report to the Parliamentary Committee on Education for their consideration. After a period of 18 months, the Committee wrote back to the Minister in January 2018 requesting that the Ministry of Education and Skills undertake an economic examination of the three policy options proposed by the expert group to assist the Committee in forming its view of the most appropriate option.
The Department has applied for the support of the Structural Reform Support Programme 2017-2020 in undertaking this economic analysis of the three policy options identified by the expert group. The closing date for applications was 31 October 2018. A decision is awaited on the outcome of the application. Successful projects are expected to proceed in early 2019. Having this evaluation undertaken through the Commission’s Structural Reform Support Programme will provide the type of international expertise, analysis, and objectivity that would be beneficial to a major evaluation of this nature.
In addition, the Department and the HEA are currently reforming the model by which funding is allocated to our higher education institutions. The independent panel’s review provides a roadmap for transitioning towards a reformed funding model that is more transparent, consistent across higher education institutions, that incentivises actions in key strategic areas such as research and STEM provision, and supports improved accountability while also respecting institutional autonomy. This will ensure that the additional funding that has been made available for higher education is targeted effectively and that institutions are held accountable for how they use public resources.
