Irish universities have sounded an urgent warning that they need more funding to cope with a rise in student numbers following nearly a decade of deep budget cuts.

In a , the Irish Universities Association predicts that they will have to cope with 25,000 extra students by 2030.

¡°This surge in numbers, arising from the demographic bulge, will place huge strain on a system already struggling to cope, having absorbed 30 per cent more students while funding was cut over the past decade,¡± says the charter.

It includes figures from the European University Association, which show that Irish universities suffered a funding squeeze of nearly 40 per cent between 2008 and 2016, but had to cope with an increase in student numbers equivalent to more than 20 per cent.

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¡°The scale of the funding deficit will increase year by year as the number of students entering the system grows,¡± the document warns. ¡°While the government has made a start on reversing the funding decline, long-awaited policy decisions on revamping the overall structure of funding have been delayed despite clear options proposed by government-appointed expert groups.¡±

It calls for a €150 million (?133.4 million) core funding boost for ÖйúAƬ in the next budget, and even more in the following two years.

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The charter also sets a number of other targets. Universities want to improve levels of lifelong learning to the European Union average and educate 10.7 per cent of adults aged 25-64 by 2030, an increase from 6.5 per cent now.

It also calls for a dramatic increase in research and development spending to bring it up to at least 2 per cent of GDP. Ireland spends just 1.2 per cent of its GDP on R&D, half the average of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, according to the report, .

david.matthews@timeshighereducation.com