The Independent’s 11 May editorial referred to recent criticism that universities are using the CAO points system to “drive interest in particular courses” and are “gaming the system” by creating “niche” courses with students missing out on their top course even with max (625) points.

Minister Lawless in the Dáil this week acknowledged that only one student with 625 points was denied a place last year, and that course was Dentistry, where numbers are tightly controlled by the State.

That is 1 course out of 360 offered across IUA’s 7 universities. It’s essentially the same number of courses that they offered a decade ago, thus disproving the assertion that universities are adding lots of new courses in a sort of academic inflation.

Nor are IUA classes artificially small. The average intake is around 70 students per course across IUA unis, compared to an average across the other publicly funded HE institutions of 30 students. In most cases students would benefit from lower class sizes – the student to staff ratio in Irish higher education is 23:1, which is 50% higher than the EU average.

As government acknowledges, universities are autonomous and the CAO is an independent entity, which manages supply & demand, the numbers of places available on courses versus the number of applicants and the Leaving Cert scores those applicants get. Where high-demand course sizes are small and CAO points requirements correspondingly higher, that is typically the result of specific factors, e.g. studies in health, pharmacy or veterinary, where the student numbers are limited by the State and its regulatory bodies and/or real world capacity constraints such as labs and placements.

The editorial also touched on the importance of teaching “transversal” skills, eg analytical thinking, communications, entrepreneurship. We agree. All IUA universities offer students the chance to take a broad range of modules both within and beyond their specific degree programmes, as well as ensuring the development of such skills is integrated into the learning outcomes of degree courses. We want to develop and sustain this offer, to facilitate life-long learning and upskilling, across a broad range of key areas including AI, digital and green skills.

But all of this requires investment. A fully funded university sector, with more staff and more capacity, is the essential way to address the underlying issues. The persistent, structural under-funding of Irish HE was recognised by Government four years ago this month, when it accepted that there was an annual funding deficit of over 300m euros a year. Four years on, the deficit, we calculate, is still well over 200m euros annually.

The best way to future proof Irish society and the economy in a turbulent and uncertain world is to invest in our young people and their future. Fully funding higher education is the crucial next step.

By Paul Johnston, IUA Director General, & Lewis Purser, Director of Learning & Teaching and Academic Affairs.