IRELAND: Academy relieved at 'modest' cuts

Universities have expressed relief following the relatively modest cuts to higher education funding announced in the Republic of Ireland's emergency budget last week, writes Hannah Fearn for Times Higher Education.

The grant allocated to universities and institutes of technology in Ireland has been cut by 7%. This includes a cut in the non-pay grant (which covers everything except salary costs) of 5%. The EUR1,500 (US$1,994) 'student-services charge', designed to cover the cost of the administration of university education rather than teaching has been replaced by a flat 'higher education student contribution' of EUR2,000 a year. With the additional income from students, this means the overall cut to the Irish academy's core grant equates to just 2.5%.
Full report on the Times Higher Education site