The Labour Party has accused the Government of "starving" third level institutions of resources.
Labour spokeswoman on education, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, said the Government's failure to provide adequate resources was resulting in layoffs.
She cited the news yesterday that the Dublin Institute of Technology was laying off 84 part-time workers as "indicative of the impact of the cutbacks".
Ms O'Sullivan claimed these cutbacks have been imposed by the Minister for Education, Mr Noel Dempsey, "despite all of his elaborate commitments to tackling the educational funding deficit".
Speaking at the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science, she said: "The cutbacks in third level education are now being felt right across the board."
"The Minister has slashed funding for capital projects at third level, students have been hit with increased registration charges and those seeking to return to education are being penalised."
She called on the Minister to ensure that the DIT and all third level institutions are provided with the necessary resources to pay part-time workers.
