Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 September 2011
14 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the recent QS World University rankings which show a drop in performance of most universities here, including Trinity College, University College Dublin and NUI Galway; and his further views that the drop in standards can be attributed to budget cuts across the third level sector. [25115/11]
Amharc ar fhreagraInternational league tables need to be interpreted with caution. Their focus on individual institutional performance does not reflect overall system quality. However, I recognise that they are referenced by international investors, employers and students as a marker of quality across systems. As such, they cannot be ignored. It is encouraging that four Irish institutions are in the top 300 QS ranked universities, out of some 15,000 universities worldwide. The reality of the economic situation poses challenges for the higher education sector. Future demand for participation growth needs to be reconciled with limitations on public resources and a need to protect and enhance core quality. The nature of these difficult trade-offs is described in the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030, which also identifies the need for more detailed analysis. I have asked the Higher Education Authority to undertake further work on the sustainability of the existing funding framework. This work will inform consideration by the Government of policy options in future funding of the sector.
I think this matter was dealt with when we took Question No. 11.
It was, in effect. This question should have been taken with the other question about international league tables.
Is it still the case that two of our universities are ranked among the top 100 universities in the world? All of them are within the top 500, but, to my knowledge, at one stage two of them were within the top 100.
Speaking from memory, Trinity is still in the top 100. UCD has slipped just over. It is in 120th place or thereabouts. I would have to check the records.
