Pages 22 & 23

22 U.C.D. and the Future

£5,000,000, cannot the College solve its accommodation problems by expansion
from its existing buildings? We urge that the total cost of the various complex
operations, including the reshuffle of College and Government property and
the various alternatives, should each be calculated in full.

Total Cost of Current Proposals in Dublin

Those most in favour of the Stillorgan Road scheme claim that the sum
involved is only £5,200,000. However, the proposals of the Commission should
be viewed in the context of the total capital expenditure involved in all the
proposals (and their consequences) now being considered in Dublin, if all
proceed independently as at present projected.

£
New buildings for U.C.D. at Stillorgan Road site ... 6,700,000
Furniture and equipment for same ... at least 1,000,000
Buildings at Kevin Street and Bolton Street ... 1,350,000
Furniture and equipment for same ... say 700,000
Total £11,936,000

Faculty of Agriculture, U.C.D. ... ?
Faculties of Veterinary Medicine, U.C.D. & T.C.D. ... ?
Provision for T.C.D.'s other accommodation needs ... ?
Provision for new University Church for U.C.D. ... ?
Provision for student hostels at new site ... ?
?????

Of course, not all of these monies would have to be provided directly by
way of parliamentary grants, but all of them would have to come from the
pockets of the community.

2. PROVISION FOR STAFF INCREASE

A College on the proposed scale, whether it be built at Stillorgan Road
or elsewhere, provides a level of accommodation for staff and students of the
standard required by a modern university. It is well to realise just what is
implied in this raising of U.C.D. to such a standard.

The memorandum from the Science departments states (p.2 of Appendix
VI F, to Chapter I of the Report) that what is being planned for is 'staff on the
levels normally provided in British universities' and the Commission in its final
chapter (p.128), says that 'Our standards in this age must be international.'
This implies first and foremost a great increase in teaching and technical staff.

Problems in the Proposed Move 23

It implies that the ratio of full-time teaching staff to full-time students be
improved to something approaching the level in operation elsewhere. In British
universities in 1956-57 the ratio stood at 1:7.2 students (a few years earlier it
was better at 1:7) and the British University Grants Committee are not yet
satisfied with the position. The ratio in U.C.D. was 1:19 students for the year
1952-53 and 1:20 for 1953-54 (the most recent years for which figures have
been published).

Taking a more conservative view than that reigning in Britian the target
might be set at a ratio of 1:8. This is approximately the ratio advocated in the
memorandum of the Engineering faculty on its requirements (Appendix VI E
to Chapter I of the Report). This means that in the new College the number
of full-time teaching staff is to be increased by a factor of 2.4 from the 1953
figure of 157 staff for 3,046 students to a figure of 380 for the same student
body (or to 625 for 5,000 students).

3. INCREASED RUNNING COSTS

Having regard to the total of new buildings contemplated and the increase
in staff, an effort may be made to calculate the probable annual running costs
of the new College.

To do this, one can take the published expenditure accounts for a recent year
and multiply each item by a factor thought to be appropriate to the new
situation. This has been done in a table set out below to which a series of
notes on the various items is appended.

Comparative Table of Present and Estimated Future Annual Expenses