A leading economist has attacked proposals to restructure Irish universities as 'narrow, utilitarian, philistine, managerial and bureaucratic' and if followed could threaten Ireland's future success.
TCD economist Dr Sean Barrett said the planned cutbacks in arts and law faculties in favour of science-based courses will reward higher cost courses which have no record of causing economic growth.
Dr Barrett described the policy of increased subsidies for science, engineering and medicine as a "quid pro quo for the universities supplying places for the daughters and sons of the taxpayers who pay for the universities."
He claimed that medical faculties obstructed the Celtic Tiger by denying access to the most able school leavers who wished to study medicine while subjects while arts and social sciences produced responded to demand by providing more high quality graduates at little costs.
"In the so-called restructuring of Irish universities the subject areas which caused the Celtic Tiger are penalised while those which mismatched the supply of palaces to demand and excluded highly qualified students will be rewarded."
Dr Barrett was speaking today at the annual conference of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland.
Dr Barrett said sound public finances, lower taxation, deregulation and a fine education sector have given Irish citizens the highest advance in living standards of any OECD country.
"When we were already in the winner's enclosure a bunch of university heads from science and engineering decided to climb on the bandwagon and claim the laurels from the work of a wide range of people and policies that made the Celtic Tiger.
They should be ejected from the bandwagon and not allowed near the driver,"
he said.