Funding the Universities
In a letter (unpublished) to The Irish Times, the President, Joe Brady, writes:
“Minister Bat O´Keeffe is right to raise the issue of how universities spend the public’s money. Without doubt, universities should get value for money and spending decisions should be taken in an open and transparent manner. This union has questioned the wisdom of some recent spending decisions and it is good to see that the Minister now appears to agree with us. There is so little money in the sector that it is important that is well spent.
“It would not be correct, however, to allow any suggestion to take hold that the funding crisis within the universities is of their own making, arising from bad spending policies. This could easily be used to justify the persistent and perennial cutting of core funding to the universities: a practice which sees funding per student fall in real terms each year.
“The central and basic message has to be that universities do not get enough money to undertake their core mission. We do not need any more reports to make that point. There is no need for further reviews. What is needed is a simple, straightforward reversal of the cuts in parallel with the development of a sustainable funding model, with appropriate spending oversight, for the future.”
The President’s letter is available in full here.