Ireland’s Education System at a Crossroads: Addressing Deficits and Opportunities in the Upcoming Budget
Jackie Brown
Change Management | HR Transformation | Leadership Development | Learning Organisation Design
With the Learnovation Learnovate Centre, Trinity College Dublin conference happening this week in Dublin coinciding with the suspected budget surplus expected to be announced in our national Budget, there were quite a few conversations from last week that I am keen to feed forward and continue.
As the Irish government prepares its next budget, the country stands at a pivotal moment in addressing the future of education. One of the most significant lectures I attended in @NCI drew attention to the entire purpose and reason why education is so significant. Leo Casey
The word educate comes from the Latin educere—to lead. But are we leading, or merely managing, our nation's educational future? Recent debates on the National Training Fund (NTF) and the state of higher education reveal a growing consensus: Ireland faces an education deficit that threatens our social fabric, economy, and long-term prospects. Clearly this is a more complex problem than money solving problems but still there are simple ideas that I welcome perspectives on to help us better understand the broader world of work we are part of.
The National Training Fund: A Surplus, But at What Cost?
The NTF currently boasts a surplus of €1.5 billion. This figure raises critical questions: How will this surplus be distributed? Shouldn’t it be used to address glaring gaps in our educational infrastructure? Currently, 53% of NTF funds are allocated toward employment and 47% for up-skilling. While Ireland’s employment rate sits comfortably at over 78%, with nearly 70% of women employed, we must ask: Are we truly preparing for the future, or merely addressing today’s needs?
One glaring issue is that while our universities are expected to play a larger role in up-skilling and employment preparation, the funding for these institutions remains precarious. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) provides recurring grants, but with a deficit of €307 million per year, universities are struggling to maintain the quality that once attracted top global talent.
There are solutions - Open the NTF to cover the deficit or perhaps ring fence corporate tax proceeds and funnel into education? Sounds simple but then the question becomes not just how? but also when and to whom?
The Erosion of Ireland’s Talent Proposition
Ireland's economic success has long been driven by the exceptional quality of its workforce, bolstered by strong educational institutions. But this talent proposition is being eroded. Today, Ireland spends just 2% of GDP on research and innovation, less than a third of the European average. Universities, once the lifeblood of our economic growth, are being underfunded, while class sizes grow and student-to-teacher ratios rise.
As The Irish Times recently noted, Ireland’s higher education system faces a “criminal neglect,” which threatens to leave us unprepared for the future. With medtech, ICT, biopharma, and renewable energy industries growing, the gap between the education sector’s capabilities and the needs of industry is widening.
Listening to The Higher Education Funding debate hosted at DCU on 25th September I heard a comparison of consequences of failing to address the challenges? “If we fail to address this, the consequences could mirror a Brexit-style exodus of talent and investment”
Research and Innovation: How Healthy is this ecosystem
One of the most alarming trends is the chronic underfunding of research and innovation infrastructure. Many of our brightest PhD students live in poverty, earning less than minimum wage despite having the most amazing minds and ideas. When they seek opportunities abroad, the fear is of them ever returning. Our investment in research, just a fraction of what it should be, is stifling the very innovation we need to compete in a global market.
If the government doesn’t intervene, we risk a slow, steady decline in our higher education system over the next 50 years. Universities and institutes must be given the tools to plan for multi-annual funding cycles, not merely survive from year to year. This is not just about maintaining the status quo; it’s about funding the future.
With over €800 million annual R&D tax breaks granted to some of the largest organisations on this planet do we need to step back and prop up our innovation ecosystem at university level?
I love the idea of having a cohesive R&D ecosystem across institutions in Ireland where we can have a database of equipment, labs and access so that research possibilities can be expanded beyond the tools and immediate facilities available. Irish Universities Association being a perfect body to hold this makes sense to me as a national resource and international seeding ground for excellence.
The Accommodation Crisis: A Barrier to Access
The student accommodation crisis is another urgent issue. In Dublin, rents have soared to levels that are unsustainable for most students. While Trinity College has some on-campus housing, the vast majority of students are left scrambling for affordable places to live. Without significant investment in student accommodation, higher education will increasingly become the privilege of the wealthy.
This made me reflect on the idea that our education system often mirrors larger societal challenges and we all know that accommodation is a huge challenge to access and experiencing life.
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Campus accommodation, working with communities on potential barriers to planning and also having a realistic view on what affordability can be defined as can support broader funding models needed for this investment.
There are many campuses that due to their location have chronic issues with accommodation inflicted on their students and this is one of the many challenges students face in accessing education and opportunities that set them up for future success.
Shane Mooney and I caught up about some of the real innovations that the Dublin Business School (DBS) are passionate about as they strive for the best possible experiences holding their students at the centre of their supports and advocacy.
The Role of Lifelong Learning
We cannot overlook the importance of lifelong learning and up-skilling. While we have Irish and European funding for adult education available, we lack a cohesive strategy for integrating lifelong learning into our educational framework. Skillsnet has done phenomenal work across industries and we need a hyper system that allows people to move in and out of education at any stage of their life or work cycle supported by adequate pastoral care and financial assistance and not limited by the extent of ambition that an organisation has for a person sitting in a role.
This is an area where I need to learn more about the intersection of our government agenda, the WEF upskilling agenda and dig deep into how our national bodies are developing and promoting skills and upskilling. The tri skills project Learnovate Centre, Trinity College Dublin and L&D Skills Navigator from LD&I are examples of how we are really making an impact in Ireland both nationally and internationally on skills based approaches to progression.
I see this as a real space for intersecting the Up-skiling momentum in organisations with ongoing micro-credentialing and qualifications from educational institutes.
I toyed with the idea of organisations allowing experienced people to second into institutions as adjunct faculty (covering their costs) as a means of integrating and addressing the talent pipeline challenges, burnout and allowing people to give back in a way that means they do not need to make an “either or choice” between organisational life and academic community interactions.
Lucky for me I am connected to the Learning and Development Institute Ireland Learning & Development Institute (L&DI) and Sinead Heneghan and they have their finger on the pulse of the Up-skilling agenda in Ireland, working tirelessly to expand and enhance organisational learning and up-skilling so that their membership network and thrive and survive. I look for ward to their National Conference in December.
Technocracy vs. Vision: The Future of Higher Education
Within any system having an understanding of the vision and purpose is an important part of sense making and will determine the type of actions. We sit in the midst of a global green revolution and our country is both geographically and demographically equipped to be a big player in this way forward. We need to ensure that our education system steps ahead with the needs of the future both in HE and FE.? Ireland has the potential to be a mass exporter of renewable energy so if we talk about money solely in those moments we need to focus on vision on what Ireland can be in the 22nd century.?The upcoming wind energy conference in November is a great place to learn what is happening in this sector.
Johanna Cafferkey and team are generating a storm with the activity they are putting into this sector
Conclusion: Inaction is a form of Action and can we calculate the cost.
The upcoming budget must address the funding gap in education, particularly in research and student support. This is not just about the present; it’s about ensuring that Ireland remains competitive, innovative, and socially equitable.
Investing in education is not a luxury, it is the foundation of our future. Without significant change, we risk falling into a slow decline, unable to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
Now is the time to act. The surplus in the National Training Fund, the opportunity for corporate tax reform, and the need for student accommodation all provide openings for transformative change. The question is: Will we seize the moment?
All to be continued and if you see me out and about next week, be sure to say hi