The IUA warmly welcomes the announcement by Taoiseach Micheal Martin that a new independent Department of Higher Education, Innovation and Science is to be formed. Reacting to the announcement Jim Miley, Director General of IUA said: “This key change in government clearly recognises the central importance of universities and other third level institutes as producers of the talent pipeline for the economy and as hubs of research and innovation. Critically, it brings both parts of the higher education system together for the first time. We warmly congratulate Minister Simon Harris and we look forward to working with him and his new Department to harness the capacity of the sector as key partners in the recovery. It is critical that the first action of the Minister is to secure the required funding for the third level system to recover from the Covid-19 financial collapse and to follow with the long-awaited reform of the funding model for the system.”
ends.