The Department for the Economy has failed Ulster University’s staff. That is the blunt conclusion of today’s announcement that up to 450 jobs are at risk - jobs the university itself says it tried to protect while waiting for a funding settlement that never came.

Our thoughts are with the staff and students affected by these devastating proposals and their potential impact on learning and communities.

Mal O’Hara, Green Party NI Leader, said:
“Ulster University held on. It worked with the Department. It waited. And it has now been told, in plain terms, that a sustainable funding model is not coming.

“That is a political choice, and political choices have consequences. Today, 450 workers and their families are living those consequences.

“Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald must come to the Assembly and explain what her plan is for higher education in Northern Ireland - not another review, not warm words, a plan.

“We will be watching the consultation process closely. Trade unions must be meaningfully involved, workers must have a genuine voice, and compulsory redundancies must not follow if voluntary uptake falls short.”

Recent university spending raises serious questions about priorities: Ulster University recently spent hundreds of millions on a new campus in Belfast and tens of thousands meeting government officials overseas.

“When it comes to flashy projects, the university can find money or borrow it from the Executive. Yet when it comes to jobs and wages, the money cannot be found.”

Green Party NI is calling for an emergency funding settlement for higher education and full transparency throughout the consultation process.

ENDS