Update of the Higher Education Authority Act 1971 - Public Consultation

The Higher Education Authority (HEA)  is the statutory funding authority for the universities, institutes of technology and a number of other designated institutions. It leads the strategic development of the Irish higher education and research system and is the advisory body to the Minister for Education and Skills in relation to the higher education sector.

The Higher Education Authority Act, 1971 established the HEA, set out its functions and provided for its governance. It has been updated on a number of occasions.

The Department of Education and Skills is proposing to put in place new legislation to more fully reflect the HEA’s current central role and responsibilities in relation to higher education, in order to support higher education institutions to be the best in Europe.

A key priority will be to clearly differentiate between the funding, advisory and regulatory / oversight role of the HEA and the strategy / policy responsibilities of the Minister for Education and Skills.

The Department requested the views of all interested parties on the proposed update of the Higher Education Authority Act, 1971. The views received from this consultation process will be considered by the Minister in the context of the process of reviewing and revising the HEA legislation.  

Stakeholders views were invited in response to a set of eight key questions that were contained in a consultation document.

Closing date for receipt of submissions was 31 August 2018.