Irish universities have urged the government to ¡°immediately¡± address a shortfall in funding for staff pay of more than €70 million (?61 million) in the 2026 budget, warning that a multiyear plan to close the gap would result in ¡°significant financial challenges¡± for institutions.

Speaking to?Times Higher Education, Michael Casey, director of finance and operations at the Irish Universities Association (IUA), said that universities ¡°have been left significantly short on an annual basis¡± since 2022, after the government failed to compensate them for centrally determined pay increases for university staff.

While the government has ¡°accepted that there¡¯s a significant element of underfunding¡±, Casey said, it has proposed to address it over the next five or six years, ¡°which isn¡¯t great from our perspective, because it means you still have to carry those underlying operating deficits for each of the next years¡±.

¡°In our view, [the pay shortfall] needs to be addressed immediately in the core base funding for the sector, or else it just creates significant financial challenges for each of the next five or six budgets.¡± Compensating universities for pay increases, Casey added, could allow them to address widening student-staff ratios, which currently stand at 21 to one for IUA member institutions; in comparison, both the OECD and EU averages are about 15 to one.

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The IUA is recommending??in the 2026 budget, due this autumn, which includes an additional €45 million to ¡°sustain momentum¡± in closing a government-identified core funding gap of €307 million.

The gap ¡°is a legacy of the financial crisis in Ireland and the years of austerity that followed,¡± Casey explained, noting that the crisis coincided with demographic growth, ¡°so we had funding being cut on one hand, and student numbers increasing on the other¡±. The pay shortfall has only increased the financial pressure on universities, he added.

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Closing the core funding gap, Casey said, ¡°would allow universities greater capacity to operate on a more strategic basis, to take a longer-term view¡±. At present, ¡°the funding situation is so difficult that it¡¯s difficult to take that strategic view. The imperative is just to keep the ship afloat¡±.

To renew out-of-date infrastructure, the IUA is also calling for a €120 million per year ¡°Research Infrastructure Fund¡±, based on the €1.2 billion Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) scheme that ran from 1998 to 2015.

A recent audit of research equipment, Casey noted, revealed that a third was more than 15 years old, while 59 per cent was more than 10 years old. ¡°You have a situation where the pace of technological development is accelerating greater than ever before,¡± he said. ¡°Graduates are going into the workplace and they¡¯re faced with equipment that they haven¡¯t experienced in their universities because they¡¯re so out of date.¡±

Last week, the??in research, education and innovation over the next five years as part of the National Development Plan. Research and higher education minister James Lawless said the investment ¡°allows us to move ahead with a new national research programme and to invest in the infrastructure that supports talent, science and discovery¡±, while it will also fund student accommodation and upgrades to further and higher education infrastructure.

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The IUA ¡°very much welcomes¡± the development, Casey told?THE, noting that the details of the plan have yet to be announced. ¡°We¡¯re optimistic that it will be a significant package of investment.¡±

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com