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Departmental Funding

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022

Tuesday, 22 March 2022

Ceisteanna (715)

Rose Conway-Walsh

Ceist:

715. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if the total expenditure on higher education programme B is set to decrease by approximately €59.6 million in 2022 as outlined by the Parliamentary Budget Office in a recent report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14411/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

In 2021 the Department secured additional temporary funding during the Supplementary Estimates. Within Programme B, voted higher education, the Department secured €227 million additional temporary funding in 2021:

- €147 million for University pension schemes and to strengthen University balance sheets 

- €80 million for the safe re-opening of the higher education sector in the 2021/22 academic year 

This investment was for one year only and temporary, making the 2021 figure look unnaturally high and skewing the analysis published by the Parliamentary Budget Office.  

Removing temporary funding in both 2021 and 2022, the increase year on year for core Voted higher education funding, Programme B, is 7%, or €125 million. The detail is set out in the attached table.   

Table: True core ncrease in Voted higher education funding from 2021 to 2022

Supplementary Estimate 2021

Revised Estimate 2022

Movement from 2021 to 2022 

Movement from 2021 to 2022 

%

Higher Education Funding

€2,147,051

€2,087,421

-€59,630

-2.78%

Less

2021 once off funding

-€147,000

Less

Temporary Covid

-€80,000

-€20,000

Less

Temporary National Recovery and Resilience Plan

-€19,000

Less

Temporary Brexit Adjustment Reserve

-€3,500

Core Higher Education Funding

€1,920,051

€2,044,921

€124,870

6.50%

Higher education investment in 2022 is over €2 billion (€2.4 billion including investment through the National Training Fund). 

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