MINISTER FOR Education Batt O’Keeffe has moved to dispel concerns that millions of euros in funding could be “ring-fenced” for the proposed UCD/Trinity College Dublin research merger.
The Government has still to decide on a high-profile launch of the new merger due this week, amid continuing anger from the other five universities.
The move by UCD and TCD was expected to be announced by Taoiseach Brian Cowen, however the hostile response from the other colleges has placed this in doubt.
It emerged last week that UCD and Trinity had been holding secret talks on much closer co-operation on major research projects, in a move understood to involve the Department of the Taoiseach and senior figures in the Department of Education.
The move comes as the seven universities prepare to pitch for some €300 million in research funding before a deadline early next month. Sources in UCD and TCD said yesterday they were determined to press ahead with the merger. They maintained it would give the research community in Ireland the critical mass it needed to be a “world leader”.
The other colleges though see the move as pre-emptive, designed to maximise funding under the latest €300 million cycle of the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI).
Third-level colleges have until early next month to pitch for the funding in a competitive process. However the other universities say the UCD and TCD presidents have received assurances that funding will be reserved for them.
Mr O’Keeffe has denied there would be any funding “ring-fenced” for TCD or UCD.
At a weekend ceremony at the University of Limerick, he also pointedly said all third-level colleges should move towards deeper collaboration. He stressed that the PRTLI was a fully competitive, independent process where each application for funding would be assessed on its own merits.
He told the Irish Examiner at the weekend: “We’re certainly not going down the road of favouritism of two institutions.”
Last week, UCC president Dr Michael Murphy said researchers from UCD and TCD were not co- operating with counterparts in other colleges on joint applications for PRTLI funding.
NUI Galway president Dr Jim Browne said he welcomed closer collaborations, but he expressed concern that preferential treatment for some collaborations might damage the entire sector.
DCU president Dr Ferdinand von Prondzynski, NUI Maynooth president Dr John Hughes and UL president Dr Don Barry have also expressed concern about the UCD/TCD move.
In a statement to UCC’s academic council, Dr Murphy said UCC was extremely concerned by the press reports of possible Government diversion of funding earmarked for national research investment, for the selective benefit of individual universities.
“Examination of the performance of all universities over the past eight to 10 years will show that there has been high performance across the university sector with each university collaborating well and contributing complementary strengths,” Dr Murphy said.
“It would be astonishing were the Government to adopt a new funding approach for Irish universities outside of these well-tested programmes.”
