Severe budget cuts not only will mean crowded classrooms and fewer student services at Irish universities this fall but also could spell the downfall of the government’s vaunted strategy for “Powering the Smart Economy,” according to a confidential working paper described in The Irish Independent.

The document drawn up by the Irish Universities Association, says the effects of financial cuts and growing university enrollments are compounded by the difficulty of attracting faculty members, especially from America, “where we are completely uncompetitive in terms of securing high-quality academics and researchers.”

The government’s “Smart Economy” strategy, which was inaugurated last year to establish “Ireland as a location for internationally recognized research and innovation,” faces collapse as a result of the measures, the newspaper warns: “As well as loss of expertise due to termination of contracts, there is a potential for a wider flight of talent from Ireland as leading researchers feel the need to flee a ‘sinking ship.’”