Written answer
Further and Higher Education
The Government has considered using the National Training Fund surplus to address higher education funding needs, committing €100 million by 2030 as part of a wider €1.5 billion tertiary education package. However, further use remains subject to departmental expenditure ceilings and Government approval, while retaining a reserve for economic uncertainty.
516. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if the government has considered utilizing accumulated surplus balances in the National Training Fund to address identified structural funding deficits in the higher education sector; and whether exceptional arrangements have been examined to allow such funding to be deployed outside of existing departmental budgetary expenditure ceilings. [67958/26]
Comment on this
Deputy, thank you for your question.
The Government has actively considered the use of the National Training Fund (NTF) surplus to support the funding needs of the tertiary education sector, including higher education. The Funding the Future framework, published in May 2022, identified a requirement for an additional €307 million in core funding to deliver enhanced performance, strategic reform and strengthened quality outcomes across the higher education system. Since then, an additional €174 million has been secured through Exchequer and employer funding, with a further €100 million in higher education funding committed from the NTF by 2030.
More broadly, Budget 2025 announced a €1.5 billion investment package for the tertiary education sector through to 2030, supporting higher and further education, skills development, apprenticeships, research and related infrastructure. This package includes significant additional investment in higher education and forms part of the Government's response to the sustainability and capacity challenges identified in Funding the Future.
However, expenditure from the NTF remains subject to the public expenditure framework. Any increase in NTF spending must be accommodated within my Department's overall expenditure ceiling or supported by a Government decision to provide additional expenditure capacity within the wider fiscal framework. Accordingly, NTF resources cannot be deployed outside established expenditure ceiling arrangements without such approval.
The NTF surplus has accumulated primarily due to strong employment growth and the corresponding increase in levy receipts in recent years. While the Government is committed to drawing down a substantial portion of this surplus, it is also important that the Fund maintains an appropriate reserve to safeguard against economic uncertainty and fluctuations in future income. Maintaining such a reserve helps ensure that sufficient resources remain available to support skills, training and lifelong learning objectives over the longer term.
I am continuing to engage with colleagues across Government, including the Minister for Finance, on the expenditure ceiling restraints that affect the rate at which NTF resources can be deployed. While I am keen to progress this matter; decisions on the level of expenditure that can be drawn down from the NTF is ultimately a matter for Government through the overall fiscal and budgetary framework and is not determined by my Department alone.