The Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe TD, is to dissolve the National University of Ireland (NUI).
Minister O’Keeffe acknowledged the important role the NUI has played in Irish education for more than a century.
‘However, the central role of the NUI was significantly reduced in the Universities Act, 1997, and the need to have a separate body undertaking what is now a limited set of functions has been outlived.
‘The NUI’s four constituent universities – University College Dublin, University College Cork, NUI Galway and NUI Maynooth – have the same statutory status as the State’s three other universities but a small number of administrative and academic functions are still carried out on their behalf by the NUI.
‘Work will now be carried out on redistributing the remaining functions of the NUI and it is envisaged that many of them will be undertaken by the constituent universities,’ said Minister O’Keeffe.
In the October 2008 Budget, the Government announced that the NUI’s functions would be considered in the context of the establishment of an amalgamated qualifications and quality assurance agency.
The McCarthy Report recommended the dissolution of the NUI.
A Bill to establish a new qualifications and quality assurance agency for the further and higher education sectors is now being drafted.
‘I am simplifying the qualifications and quality assurance landscape by amalgamating existing agencies in that area.
‘That pursuit of institutional coherence has led me to conclude that the NUI’s role in higher education is no longer sustainable.
‘This is consistent with the Government’s public sector reform agenda,’ said Minister O’Keeffe.
NUI has awarding relationships with a small number of recognised colleges.
Most of these colleges have already been exploring possible future options for award-making and when the dissolution is completed these colleges will need to enter new awarding arrangements.
One option for them will be to link with one of the former constituent universities.
The NUI has a role in the election of three members of Seanad Éireann.
Minister O’Keeffe will address this issue by working closely with his colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, in the context of wider plans for Seanad reform.
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Note for Editors: NUI
Background
The NUI was founded under the Irish Universities Act 1908 as a federal university with three constituent colleges in Dublin, Cork and Galway. These constituent colleges later achieved university status and the NUI also formed links with recognised colleges, including Maynooth College which achieved university status in 1997.
Structure
The NUI was restructured, with significantly reduced powers, in the Universities Act 1997. The NUI has four as autonomous constituent universities:
University College Dublin;
University College Cork;
National University of Ireland, Galway; and
National University of Ireland, Maynooth.

The degrees and other qualifications awarded by the constituent universities are deemed to be degrees and qualifications of the NUI.
NUI has five recognised colleges for which it makes awards:
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland;
National College of Art and Design;
Institute of Public Administration;
Shannon College of Hotel Management; and
Milltown Institute.

The Chancellor of the NUI – Dr Maurice Manning – chairs the Senate which is its governing authority. The composition of the NUI Senate is set out in the Universities Act 1997: the chancellor, presidents of the constituent universities and NUI registrar are ex officio members; there are members elected by the governing authorities of each of the constituent universities and by the graduate body of the University (NUI convocation); and there are four members appointed by the government and four co-opted members.
Functions
The primary function of NUI is to provide central services to its constituent universities.
NUI is also responsible for:
providing documentation and certification services to graduates and employers and an information service for schools and the general public;
administering awards schemes, awarding fellowships, studentships, scholarships and prizes;
maintaining a register of NUI graduates and administers the election in the NUI constituency of three members of Seanad Éireann;
providing the secretariat for the NUI Senate and for committees of the Senate;
supporting convocation of the NUI;
supporting and promoting the language and history of Ireland, scholarship and research in Celtic Studies (common to all four constituent universities) and Irish cultural heritage;
printing parchment for the making of awards for the recognised colleges and for the making of NUI awards by the constituent universities.

NUI retains a number of statutory functions in relation to the constituent universities as follows:
the appointment of external examiners and the determination of their functions with the concurrence of the constituent universities;
the setting of basic matriculation standards;
reviewing the content and teaching of courses.

NUI carries out the following additional functions in respect of its recognised colleges:
agreeing quality assurance arrangements;
reviewing the effectiveness of the quality assurance procedures of the recognised colleges; and
the making of awards.

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