Any reductions in the level of European funding available to Ireland for peace and reconciliation could adversely affect the peace process.

University of Ulster Vice-Chancellor Professor Gerry McKenna delivered his warning during a major cross border conference on the future of higher education and north-south economic co-operation on the island of Ireland.

Addressing delegates from Ireland’s nine universities on Thursday, Professor McKenna said: “Peace is a delicate and incremental process and it must be nurtured and strengthened until it is strong enough to stand on its own.

“Faith in what we are doing will require sustainable funding from existing sources and new income streams, if cross border co-operation is to develop from the strong platform that now exists. The PEACE I and II programmes for the border counties have been a lifeline since 2002 and are indeed part of the national development plan for Ireland.

“And I want to send a public message to Brussels and Strasbourg about the dangers of cutting off such lifelines of support at an important stage.”

In an overview of emerging challenges and opportunities for the higher education sector, Professor McKenna also criticised the rigid cap which Government has placed on student recruitment at the two Northern Ireland Universities, and called upon Ireland’s higher education sector to rise to the challenge of the learning needs of the international economy.

“With an unmet need in the world for 32 million higher education places every year, without even addressing the almost infinite capacity for learning in the developing and underdeveloped worlds it is ironic that Northern Ireland is the only region where there is a rigid ceiling on the number of students we can admit," Professor McKenna warned.

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