Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science Simon Harris has announced an extra €40 million for higher education institutions for the upcoming academic year.
The funding is to be invested in universities and colleges across the country to make them greener and more accessible.
The money is to be used to support universal access; energy efficiency and decarbonisation; to help students access laptops and other essential equipment; upgrading buildings and other minor works.
For the first time, the funding is being extended to the Royal Irish Academy of Music and the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies.
Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said the sector faces significant challenges in responding to climate goals.
“Across our sector, we can play the lead in responding to the great challenges of our time – how we meet our climate targets, how we make Ireland better for people with disabilities, how we improve access to education for people from disadvantaged backgrounds,” said Mr. Harris.
He said making higher education welcome and inclusive for everyone is a key aim of his department.
The technology sector has been awarded the largest portion of the grants with €20,000,000 going to seven institutions.
Nine universities/colleges will receive slightly less with €19,200,000 and the remaining €800,000 is to go to four other smaller third-level institutions.
A breakdown of the grant figures shows UCD will receive approximately €3,754,000, University College Cork will get €2,961,000, Trinity College is to get €2,725,000, and the University of Limerick will receive €1,193,000.
The funding is part of ongoing investment in higher education under Project Ireland 2040.