Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 January 2019
71. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills the funding that has been approved for an institution (details supplied) in the past three years; the funding that has been specifically indicated for the campus at a location as part of that funding; the system used to ensure that allocations are used for the purpose proposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2729/19]
View answerMy Department allocates the recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the HEA designated higher education institutions including Institutes of Technology (IoTs) such as Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT).
In previous years, similar to a number of higher education institutions, LYIT experienced some financial difficulties. Following engagement with the HEA a 3 year financial plan was agreed with LYIT which has been subject to ongoing monitoring by the HEA. The plan included a rebranding of the School of Tourism in Killybegs to grow profile and potential demand, continue part-time student growth, development of new undergraduate programmes and other cost cutting measures which were rolled out across the campus.
My Department agreed to allocate ring-fenced funding of €750,000 to LYIT in respect of the Tourism College for a period of four years to 2020.
I am pleased to understand that as a result of the above steps and the recent overall increases in current funding to the higher education sector, there are signs of significant improvement in LYIT’s financial position, with a surplus of €694,000 achieved for the 2016/17 financial year and an overall accumulated a surplus of €2.3 million at year end.
Details of the current funding allocated by the HEA to LYIT, including the ring-fenced funding provided for Killybegs, is set out in the table.
|
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|
|
Core Grant |
€11,408,502 |
€12,534,722 |
€13,747,305 |
|
Ring-fenced Funding |
€0 |
€750,000 |
€750,000 |
|
Fees & Other |
€2,818,289 |
€3,332,106 |
€3,245,679 |
|
Total |
€14,226,791 |
€16,616,828 |
€17,742,984 |
