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Budget 2019: 10 things to know about Education measures amid warning of 'growing third-level crisis'

 

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Katherine Donnelly Email

EDUCATION has been allocated €10.8bn in Budget 2019, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe announced today.

While funding is up €674million (6.7pc) from 2018, the Irish Universities Association has warned it is not enough, as they warned of a growing crisis.

IUA Director General Jim Miley said is has "done very little to address the growing crisis in third-level funding."

According to the IUA, the  allocation of €57m million in extra funding on top of existing commitments on national pay increases, "while welcome, only allows the system to tread water".

Mr Miley said  bulk of the money was ring-fenced for specific purposes and does not deal with the core funding gap.

Commenting on the promise of f a Human Capital Initiative Fund in two years time, Mr Miley said it did nothing to address the current funding shortfall.

While the fund was  welcome, "this amounts to no more than a future promise and does nothing to address the needs of the quarter of a million strong student population in our third level system", he said.

Mr Miley said state funding per student remained virtually unchanged "as the small allocation of extra funds is mopped up by increasing student numbers.

Paschal Donohoe pictured with Budget 2019 (Photo: Gerry Mooney) Expand

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Paschal Donohoe pictured with Budget 2019 (Photo: Gerry Mooney)

Paschal Donohoe pictured with Budget 2019 (Photo: Gerry Mooney)

Paschal Donohoe pictured with Budget 2019 (Photo: Gerry Mooney)

"State funding per third level student in Ireland at €5,000 is a fraction of that in Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland, countries with whom we are in competition for investment.

"It is a serious cause of concern that the government has not prioritised the education of the future workforce of the country. Third level funding is critical to generating the talent pool for the economy. Our future economic competitiveness will be eroded if the public funding deficit is not addressed.

"It’s patent nonsense for the Minister to continue to talk about having the ‘best education system in Europe by 2026’ while presiding over a funding regime that only provides a fraction of the funding per student of those best countries in Europe."

Here are ten other things that were announced in Budget 2019 for Education:

  • An additional 1,300 posts  in schools, including 950 special need assistants and 372 teachers, to cater for growing pupil numbers
  • Capitation grants for schools up 5pc from September 2019.
  • The School Excellence Fund will increase by 25pc to over €2.5 million, allowing more schools to collaborate in clusters to experiment with novel solutions to common challenges.
  • Further investment to provide teaching principals in primary schools with one additional release day and four additional release days for those in schools with special classes.
  • Ten additional psychologists will be recruited to the National Education Psychological Service.
  • Nearly €5 million is to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Review of the SNA scheme, to support a new school inclusion model.
  • €50 million in 2019 to facilitate the further roll-out of the investment programme to upgrade ICT infrastructure in all schools – a 67pc increase on 2018.
  • A 0.1pc increase in National Training Fund levy in 2019 and 2020.
  • €300m ring-fenced Human Capital Initiative from within the National Training  Fund over 2020-24 to as response to Brexit.
  • Additional €196m for capital spending in 2019 to support creation of up to 18,000 permanent school places and  5,000 replacement places.

 

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