1493. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the amount of funding provided towards closing the identified funding gap of €307 million per annum since the publication of Funding the Future in May 2022; the remaining annual funding gap each year; and the cumulative value of these funding shortfalls over the period for each year, in tabular form. [64615/26]

The Funding the Future Framework published in May 2022, outlines the vision for how higher education will be funded and how this will support students, employers and wider society.

The Framework identified an amount of €307 million as representing the quantum of increase in core funding required to deliver enhanced performance, strategic reforms and strengthened quality of outcomes.

Over a number of years, additional core funding is being prioritised through the Estimates process in order to deliver on the increased level of funding identified in the framework and to improve system capacity to respond to national priorities.

It is not possible to calculate a cumulative value of funding shortfalls as suggested by the Deputy, as this would imply that the Government had planned to provide the full €307 million immediately, which was never the intention. Instead, the Government has set out its intention to increase core funding over a number of years, and we remain on target to deliver on this commitment by 2030.

Since the publication of Funding the Future, an additional €174 million has been secured in exchequer and employer funding with a commitment to deliver a further €100 million by 2030 from the National Training Fund (NTF). The breakdown of the €174m is as follows:

• 2023 - €40.5m

• 2024 - €65.2m

• 2025 - €58.7m

• 2026 - €9.6m

It is anticipated that further additional exchequer funding will be secured in future estimates to deliver on commitments, including on priorities such as healthcare places and tertiary programmes.