Thomas Byrne, Fianna Fáil’s Education Spokesperson, has cast doubt on the idea that a consensus can ever be reached on a new funding model for higher education.
Responding to a question from The University Times at a post-budget analysis event by the Dublin University Business Society (DUBES), Byrne said it was highly unlikely any agreement could be reached between the members of the Oireachtas Education and Skills Committee.
The committee, of which Byrne is a member, has been charged by the government with compiling recommendations on a new higher education funding model.
Byrne declined to give a date or timeline for when the committee would come to a decision on a new funding model or when a report would be produced.
“If you look around the committee… can anyone see us coming to an agreement, let’s be honest, it’s never going to happen”, he said.
The Minister for Education, Richard Bruton, has repeatedly made clear the need for a “consensus” on a new funding model – an idea that has become increasingly unlikely in recent months as various parties and politicians have questioned whether any agreement can be reached.
The hope of a new funding model by Budget 2018 has not been fulfilled and it remains unclear when a decision will be made. In recent months, Fianna Fáil has repeatedly expressed scepticism about loan schemes, while only last month Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he wouldn’t want to see UK or US-style loan schemes introduced in Ireland.
The Oireachtas Education and Skills Committee has, for the last several months, been hearing presentations about possible funding models. University heads, students’ unions and employers’ groups have all lobbied for various solutions to a funding crisis that has dragged on for years.
