HEA 2018 Annual Report

My name is Paul O’Toole. I am the Chief Executive of the Higher Education Authority. I am very pleased to introduce our 2018 Annual Report in its new digital format. We hope that you find it a useful resource to review our key activities in 2018 and to consider our financial statements.

During 2018 we supported the learning journeys of two hundred and thirty-two thousand students, full-time, part-time and those studying through other modes, through an investment of over €1.25 billion. We also invested in vital ground-breaking research, foundation and applied by our universities our institutes of technology and our colleges. Combined these investments will help secure better futures for people, for enterprises and for society as a whole.

As it must, the sector continued to evolve in 2018. We in the HEA concluded three years strategic performance compacts with each institution. The ground-breaking work required to bring the Technological University of Dublin into being was completed and it opened its doors on the first of January 2019, the first of its kind.

I work with a great and committed team of people within the Higher Education Authority. With our board, we are dedicated to and committed to advancing higher education in Ireland. As an organisation, we too must grow and evolve and we are committed to improving our capability and increasing our contribution to the sector in the years to come.­