*Donna McGettigan
CLARE TD Donna McGettigan has criticised the Government over what she described as chronic underfunding of third-level education, warning that universities are being pushed towards breaking point.
The Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education raised the issue in the Dáil, claiming that State funding per student is now 34% lower than it was in 2008, despite rising student numbers and operating costs.
“Our universities are teetering on a cliff edge, and this Government cannot continue to ignore the warning signs,” she said.
Ms McGettigan said universities were being expected to meet growing demands with fewer resources, while students were bearing the cost of years of underinvestment.
She pointed to an additional €10 million in core funding announced by the Government, compared with a funding gap estimated by the Irish Universities Association to exceed €250 million.
“And what is this Government’s response? A paltry €10 million in additional core funding against a crisis estimated by the Irish Universities Association to exceed €250 million. That is a drop in the ocean and a failure to acknowledge the magnitude of the problem, never mind address it.”
She also questioned what had happened to a 2022 commitment to provide €25 million annually towards closing the funding gap.
“In 2022, a commitment was made to provide €25 million annually towards closing that funding gap. What has happened to that commitment? There seems to be no ambition and no investment that our students were promised. Resourcefulness, that our universities are having to put up with, can’t substitute for a properly funded system.”
Ms McGettigan also raised concerns about student accommodation, saying the shortage of affordable housing was forcing some students into long commutes or leaving them questioning whether they could afford to attend university.
She criticised the Government’s student accommodation strategy, which she said proposed handing public land to private investors, despite concerns raised by student unions and universities about affordability and the feasibility of the plans without State funding.
“Private investors are all about making money, that is what they do. So why should public land be handed over to build student accommodation that may not even be affordable to those who need it?” she asked.
The Clare TD called for higher education to be treated as a public good and criticised the Government over the continued failure to deliver on a promise to abolish student fees.
“How many more students must struggle before higher education is treated as a public good rather than a budgetary afterthought? It is time to end the broken promises, stop kicking the can down the road and properly fund our universities and our students.
“Where is the promise of abolishing student fees? Students are now paying more in fees than they were when it was first promised to abolish them. Is it any wonder that slogan, ‘We have the dearest free education in the world’, resonates with so many?”
