Institute plan calls for increased funding to aid research activities

Research activities at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies will be severely hampered unless staff vacancies are filled and funding is increased, according to a five-year strategic plan issued yesterday.

The plan relates in particular to the institute's School of Cosmic Physics where two professorial posts have remained unfilled because of a lack of funding.

"The school was set up as a showcase of Irish science," said Prof Aftab Khan, chairman of the school's governing board. The board, however, was very concerned about being able to maintain [the school's] standards, he added. "One of the most remarkable things about the school is it has achieved so much with limited resources."

The institute was established in 1940 by Mr Eamon de Valera, and the School of Cosmic Physics was established in 1947 to conduct research into astronomy, astrophysics and geophysics. The institute is funded through an annual grant-in-aid from the Department of Education. The school's share is about £1.1 million. It earns another £270,000 from contract and project research income.

The plan points out that about 80 per cent of its budget goes into salaries, leaving only 20 per cent to cover power, heat, security and finally research activities. In the mid-1970s the non-pay portion was 40 per cent.

"Comparison with comparable institutions elsewhere shows that the non-pay to pay ratio is anomalously low, reflecting gradual attrition over the years as the pay budget has inexorably inflated faster than the total budget for the school," the document points out.

A "minimum core staffing complement" should be agreed with the Minister for Education and Science to allow the two vacant posts to be filled, according to the plan. It also warns against letting the grant-in-aid fall any lower, suggesting that an attempt should be made to gradually reverse the trend of the last few decades and build it up to a more realistic level.

"We have done relatively well up to now, but the trends are dangerous," said Prof Brian Jacob, who heads the geophysics section of the school.

It was essential that the nonpay side be increased to allow more research. A great deal could be achieved with even a modest increase in resources, he said.

The school usually has between 12 and 15 student researchers, either graduates or post-doctoral students who carry out very advanced basic research under the direction of senior academics. The school and the institute have earned an international reputation for the quality of their studies.