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Universities in turmoil: Inside the funding battle at Ireland’s third-level institutions

Higher education experts have warned for years about the risks of state underinvestment. Now a series of controversies have brought university funding back into the spotlight

Irish universities have courted international and postgraduate students in increasing numbers as they try to deal with a funding crunch that’s proved hard to resolve. Picture: Getty

Dr Graham Love had big plans when he took over as chief executive of the Higher Education Authority in 2017.

Love wanted to drive standards in Irish institutes, and was hopeful that the government would imminently make a decision about the funding of higher education, after years of underinvestment following the 2008 recession.

Instead, he said, the state didn’t make a call on a funding model, and it didn’t agree with Love’s view of the ...