The assignment of Simon Harris as Taoiseach has paved the way for Patrick O’Donovan, TD for Limerick, to step into the position of Minister for Further and Higher Education. His docket as the new minister is complicated to put it mildly. With just a year in office remaining before the Dáil dissolves, O’Donovan will be hard-pressed to make significant headway in even a fraction of these issues.
The crucial issues he must address in the year to come include:
1. Resolving the ‘crisis’ of funding higher education
The Government concedes that this can be described as a funding “crisis”, with nearly half of the 18 publically funded higher education establishments in deficit the previous year. Although Simon Harris was the inaugural minister to handle the thorny issue of agreeing a fresh funding model for higher education, many within the sector complain that the process is drawn out. He determined an additional €307 million over three years was required to meet funding demands– but only a portion of this has been handed over. Can the incoming minister provide the resources required to ensure universities remain financially viable, along with reducing the student to teacher ratio from 23:1 to closer to the EU mean of 15:1?
2. Bring out the potential of the new technological universities
It remains uncertain if the technological universities will prove as successful as it had been pledged. The past two years saw a 9% fall in enrolment across the five new technological universities, contrasting with a 4% increase in the eight established universities. O’Donovan will have the responsibility of bringing out the potential of these universities. They have their governing structures in place, but await long-term capital investment to construct the essential physical infrastructure that will validate their status as a university.
3. Expand apprenticeships and cover skills gaps
Apprenticeships are experiencing rapid growth – but from a low starting point. Moreover, there are now logjams of thousands of apprentices waiting for off-the-job training. O’Donovan will need to address this, while maintaining the quick expansion of the sector that now spans approximately 70 apprenticeship zones varying from traditional sectors, such as building and auto mechanics, to new sectors including financial services and insurance.
Bridging the skills shortage and hitting national objectives in areas like green abilities and retrofitting will be crucial. Additionally, the government must encourage continuous learning for adults in all aspects of tertiary education to make sure the workforce’s abilities can keep up with a modern economy’s demands.
The flourishing of the further education sector should be facilitated. Consolidation and streamlining of further education sector integration is needed to avoid local level redundancies, while guaranteeing the comprehensive range of courses available in each educational and training board area. The newly introduced tertiary degrees, providing entrance to university degrees outside the traditional CAO application route via further education, hold significant value to the sector. Around 40 of such tertiary degree choices are expected to be available in September 2024, but the question remains whether they will be chosen by students.
The 2023 Research and Innovation Bill aims to form a new research and innovation funding agency, dubbed Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland, by combining the Irish Research Council and Science Foundation Ireland. However, this move hasn’t gained universal acceptance. Science Foundation Ireland, known for its enterprise emphasis, has contributed significantly to Ireland. So, plans to disband it and shift its responsibilities to the new Research Ireland agency come with elements of risk. Will this prove a wise decision in the long run?
O’Donovan will have to address employment conditions raised by the Teachers’ Union of Ireland concerning the terms of educators in technological universities who had previously worked in technology institutions. This implies setting up the pay scales for assistant professors and professors within the new tech universities, in line with their senior management structures. But there are also concerns about the pay levels of teaching staff who are scheduled to teach the first and possibly second year, of four- to five-year tertiary degree programmes in further education colleges. Other issues to tackle include low-paid doctoral researchers who are essential in higher education but are managing on less than €10,000 yearly.
Simon Harris made a commitment to raise the PhD stipend to €25,000, in line with the suggestions from last year’s national review. However, it remains to be seen whether O’Donovan can make this a reality.
Harris should be praised for his efforts in decreasing the financial burden of higher education for struggling families, including enhancing grant provisions.
There is, nonetheless, an ongoing increase in the cost of living, with housing not becoming more affordable or easier to secure.
The question remains if O’Donovan can continue to reduce the cost of education, whilst simultaneously addressing the sector’s urgent need for investment.