Opposition calls for dedicated higher education department

FIANNA Fáil’s Micheál Martin has called for a restructuring of the Department of Education and the creation of a separate Department of Higher Education and Research.

In a speech to university leaders at the Irish Universities Association’s inaugural Future of Ireland series in Dublin yesterday, Mr Martin also highlighted the need to improve innovation funding and accessibility in higher education.

‘I believe the time has come to consider separating higher education from the Department of Education. Our firstand second-level systems face rising demands to address vital issues such as diversity and inclusion,’ he said.

‘The creation of a separate Department of Higher Education and Research might be the only way to guarantee both a real priority for this area and to provide strategic leadership. Such a department would have critical mass in terms of size and budget,’ he added.

On the core funding of higher education, Mr Martin stated that ‘the system needs clarity and certainty’. He said: ‘We have to end the permanent insecurity about what each year will bring.

‘How can institutions be expected to manage staff and implement long-term plans if they lack basic financial security? Funding needs to be based on a transparent approach to providing the resources necessary to deliver quality education,’ Mr Martin said.

However, his comments were dismissed by Fine Gael Senator Maria Byrne, who called on Mr Martin to clarify which department he would do away with to accommodate such a move.

She said Mr Martin seemed ‘unaware that higher education is already treated as its own portfolio within the Department of Education with a dedicated Minister who sits at the Cabinet table’.

‘Would he forsake the dedicated portfolio on the welfare and protection of children or the targeted division to promote rural and community development to establish a department which is already catered for?’ she said.