Tuesday, November 15, 2011
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THIRD LEVEL IN IRELAND Inside our special supplement: UT’s interview with Ruairí Quinn Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynksy Max Sullivan on why fees must be re-introduced
Promotions to be pushed through
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Leaving Home in Style: An eviction that became art Animal Business: The lives of animal actors Finding Velasquez: Trinity’s masterpiece detective And the best in culture and colour writing
Postgrad grants to be scrapped
My blue eyed Jane
» Promotions yet to be cleared by the Department of Education » Promotions necessary to boost staff morale & retain personnel, says Board
» 40% of postgraduate students to lose government support money
Leanna Byrne News Editor
THE DEPARTMENT of Education is to abolish all existing grants and maintenance support to postgraduate students from next year according to a Sunday Business Post report. Currently 40 percent of all full-time post graduate students are fi nancially supported by the government, a figure which amounted to approximately 9,000 students this year. However, from next year this support will be cut for new students in a bid to save the Department of Education €50 million a year. Students that are presently enrolled on postgraduate degree courses will be allowed continue to avail of the maintenance grants and grants for fees. Postgraduate students who qualify for fee and maintenance grants receive an average of €6,000 a year. The number of students who receive these grants amount
ACADEMIC AND administrative paid promotions are to go ahead, as confi rmed by a College Board meeting on the 12th of last month. Last year, proposals to go ahead with promtions were abandoned by the College. The Vice-Provost and Chief Academic Office, Professor Linda Hogan, encouraged the Board to draw attention to the initiation of the promotions process for academic and administrative, technical and support staff in this academic year. The terms of the academic employment control framework have made provisions for promotions within the confi nements of staff numbers and staff ratios between grades. Last year, The University Times reported that 27 senior academics were
promoted during the public sector promotions embargo. The Employment Control Framework issued by the government in 2008 to reduce staff numbers in the public service prohibits recruitment and promotions except in special approved circumstances. The move was soon withdrawn, but the Board have now found a way to by-pass this issue. Th is year, the Board were confident that there is flexibility for a limited number of promotions as the university has delivered significant savings under the terms of the employment control framework and thus should not be expected to be constrained any further. SU President Ryan Bartlett commented that “staff would not be moving above their levels, they would only be moving within categories.” Promotions would not be made unless there was a
Leanna Byrne News Editor
Couples eye up the competition from the starting line at the Scandinavian Society’s inaugural Totally-UndiscriminatoryActively-Inclusive-Non-Heteronormative-Pan-Gender-Life-Carrying-Competition. Photo: Joseph Noonan number of staff with merit to receive a promotion or else if there was a position available. Furthermore, the proposal is only putting forward the introduction of a process. Despite the scope for promotions being present, the Board agreed that there were risks involved with initiating the process, including fi nancial and compliance risks and limited capacity to reward excellence. To curb any objections, the proposal will undergo a
rigorous review by the Senior Promotions Committee, the Human Resources Committee and an analysis of the full costing of promotions will be undertaken by the Planning Group. In addition, the Department of Education and Skills had yet to respond to the Board’s proposals for an Early Retirement Scheme. Th is suggests that the department have not accepted the promotions proposal and that the proposal may in fact be rejected by the
department in light of the measurable budget cuts that they face. During the course of the discussions there were a number of issues raised by Board members included the fact that without any promotions the staff morale would be lacking. According to staff, even a small number of promotions would boost morale across the board. The promotions would be based on merit and would be open to all staff. It was stated that, to avoid
staff disappointment, it is vital that staff should be clearly informed of the limited capacity for paid promotion in an effort to manage expectations. Regardless of the issues that the proposal faces, the Board approved the ViceProvost’s recommendations on the reinstatement of the promotion process.
to one-third of the postgraduate students, whereas the other two-thirds pay full fees. Speaking to The University Times Graduate Students Union (GSU) President Mary O’Connor highlighted the problems associated with the cuts. “Irish postgraduates have no other choice but to leave Ireland and research abroad. Abolishing grants for new postgraduate entrants, not only will exclude thousands of Irish students from accessing postgraduate education, but will also have a detrimental impact on Irish universities.” Furthermore, the GSU President emphasised that Ireland depends on its universities’ postgraduate research to boost its rankings, economic output and international reputation.
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Minister suggests student cap Second theft in House 6 as » UT interview reveals Minister’s student cap intentions Saoirse O’Reilly Staff Writer IN AN interview with The Univeristy Times on Friday, November 4, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn revealed that the introduction of a cap on student numbers in third level education has been proposed by the Higher Education Authority following a report by the Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn. Under the proposed system, colleges would be given a set allocation of student numbers and a matching budget. The HSE argue that colleges are struggling to cope with the lack of funding available and that education in Ireland is set to deteriorate unless this is addressed. The number of students in third level education has already risen from 120,000 in 2,000, to 160,000 in 2010. The report by HEA showed that funding support for students has declined by 18 percent from 2008 to 2011. The student registration fee has already risen to try and cope with the funding problems. Th is rose in September from €1,500 to €2,000, creating an extra 40 million euro for colleges
in the Republic. According ti thie Minister, this increase has been inadequate in shoring up third level finances. The capping system is proposed at a time when UK fees are rising to £9,000, (€10,500). With this high cost of education in the UK, it is inevitable that demand for Irish University places will increase. It is likely that CAO points will surge dramatically if this cap is introduced, and students may fi nd it difficult to obtain a place on their desired course, even if they achieve the required points. The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has strongly objected to this proposal. They claim it would prove “disastrous” if introduced and that it would be negative for the country’s economic recovery. Gary Redmond, USI President, said this was a “short sighted decision” which would have dire consequences. Rachel Barry, Trinity College Student’s Union Education Officer agrees with USI that “this is far too simplex a solution for a complex issue”. Ryan Bartlett, Trinity College Student’s Union
President welcomes the idea that the government are looking at other options as opposed to relying on raising the registration fee. Both Bartlett and Barry disagree with the HSE’s comment that education in Ireland is deteriorating. A detailed analysis by the Times Higher Education Rankings show that Trinity is comparable with the top universities in the world in respect of Research Impact with a score of 92%, and four colleges in the top 20 had lower scores than this. Barry claims that many people still cite Trinity as one of the best in the world in this field. Taoiseach Enda Kenny has however told the Dáil this week that “there have been no decisions made in respect of the Department of Education, or any other department yet, by the Government,” he said.
Mr Kenny explained that the student population was instead going to increase by 10 per cent, meaning more teaching staff will be needed. Th is proposal leaves many questions unanswered.Rachel Barry points out that capping the student numbers will not increase funding needed and that “increasing the registration fee passes the problem on from the government to the student”. Despite Mr Kenny’s comment that no decisions have been made in respect of this cap, it has still raised issues that will have to be addressed.
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USI President Gary Redmond
Sci Fi Soc lose over €1,000 David Doyle Culture Editor TRINITY’S SCI-FI Society has become the second student society this year to have a considerable sum of money stolen from its society room. Auditor, Hannah Lancashire, refused to confi rm how much money was taken but sources have placed the theft in excess of one thousand Euros and given that the money was from membership sign-up fees during Freshers’ Week, the figure could be significantly higher. The theft, which occurred during the third week of term, resulted in the cashbox containing the money being removed from the fi ling cabinet in the society room, which is on the top floor of house six. Hannah Lancashire stressed that the fi ling cabinet, which is used to store DVDs, was a secure spot as it was locked. However, a member of the society has suggested that the cabinet in which the cashbox was stored was regularly left unlocked. The same member of the society told
The University Times that the money had been counted by the treasurer in the society room which was fi lled with members before the cashbox was placed back in the drawer. Th is incident is said to have occurred shortly before the theft itself. Security concerns have also been raised about the fact that membership of people entering the room is rarely checked. The Central Societies Commit-
large bag in the Bram Stoker Room, which it shares with The Phil, in the GMB on the Friday of Freshers’ Week and sometime between then and the following Tuesday, they were removed. The cash which auditor, Justin McCann, described as “a few hundred quid” was in a locked cashbox and the room itself was locked at the time. Only those with keys to the Bram Stoker Room have access to the room and
Sci Fi soc Auditor Hannah Lancashire refused to confirm how much money was taken
tee and the Gardaí were immediately notified by the auditor upon discovery of the theft, as is correct protocol for societies in such a situation and an investigation has been launched. Sci-Fi is the second society to have cash stolen this year following the theft of cash, sweets and flyers from the Theological Society. The items had been left in a
it is not open for access to regular members of the society. The society, which is one of the oldest on campus, is unlikely to be adversely affected by the loss of their Freshers’ Week income due to a large private sponsorship deal. To minimise the impact of incidents like those experienced by both the Theological Society and the
The University Times
Editor: Ronan Costello Deputy Editor: Rónán Burtenshaw Volume 3, Issue 2
Sci-Fi Society, the Central Societies Committee advises all society treasures to keep no more than one hundred Euros petty cash in their society rooms at any one time. However for many societies around Freshers’ Week this advice is not practicable due to cash taken via membership sign ups at times when banks are closed. The two incidents raise concerns over the general security of society rooms and the security measures in place in House 6 to prevent such occurences. Currently it is the responsibility of society members to ensure that their society rooms are locked and that proper provision is made for the safety of all cash and property of the society. There is nothing at this juncture to indicate a link between the two thefts. If anyone has any information regarding either of the thefts, you are advised to contact the Central Societies Committee.
Th is newspaper is produced with the fi nancial support of Trinity College Students’ Union. It is editorially independent and claims no special rights or privileges.