UCC generates €1.18bn for Ireland's economy every year, says report
While €1.18 billion in output is produced by UCC annually, the State provides €198 million in investment, representing a return of €6 to the Irish economy for every €1, researchers found. File photo
University College Cork (UCC) helps to generate €3.2 million every day for the Irish economy, adding €1.18 billion annually.
The finding is included in a new independently verified report published by the university, examining its economic and social impact.
As it celebrates a historical milestone, having registered its first students 175 years ago, UCC is now Cork’s third-largest employer. Almost one in every 13 jobs in Cork City and county are supported by the university.
The new research examines how visitors to UCC, as well as its staff and students, significantly contribute to both the local and national economy, through spending, supporting local businesses and connecting Cork.
Taking 2022 as a representative year, the university generated €3.2 million every day for the Irish economy, through the direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts associated with expenditure by the university, staff, students, graduates and visitors as well as alumni in the first year after graduation.
Taxation on top of this €1.18 billion annually amounts to a further €218 million each year. This accounts for VAT and social insurance contributions, as well as the payroll of UCC’s staff, its graduates and its students, and the VAT paid by visitors.
While €1.18 billion in output is produced by UCC annually, the State provides €198 million in investment, representing a return of €6 to the Irish economy for every €1, researchers found.
Published this Monday, the ‘Economic and Societal Impact of UCC’ also found:
- UCC’s 24,386 students also have a positive impact on the local economy, accounting for €259.7 million in spending annually;
- UCC secured €113 million in competitively won research and innovation funding in 2022/23.
- Alumni who remain and work in Ireland create extra economic value for the economy of up to €98m in the first year after graduation.
More than 7,500 students graduate annually from UCC, with 96.5% of UCC undergraduates employed or in further study nine months after gradation.
The report also found that UCC has widened participation in higher education, with one in five (21%) of undergraduate students entering the university through alternative access pathways.
More than 54,000 people visited the Glucksman Gallery at UCC in 2023, helping to make the UCC campus a significant draw for thousands of visitors each year. A further 3,500 visitors visit UCC annually to attend conferences.
UCC is an "economic and cultural powerhouse" that supports and grows our regional and national economies," according to UCC president Professor John O’Halloran. "The report provides the evidence that the societal impact of UCC is as wide as the economic impact is deep.
"The university is a global gateway that attracts students from 126 countries and we have a long proud history of contributing talented graduates to Ireland’s national skills force."
The 'Economic and Societal Impact of UCC' was authored by Professor Mark Hutchinson, Professor Justin Doran, Dr Yuping Yin and Mr David Hogan at Cork University Business School.
It was independently verified by Professor Mike Danson, Professor Emeritus of Enterprise Policy, Heriot-Watt University and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.
