There are growing concerns about third-level funding after both Trinity College Dublin and UCD suffered significant drops in the latest world university rankings.
According to the Times Higher Education table, Trinity has fallen from 129th to 138th, while UCD has dropped from 161st out of the top 200.
Rankings editor Phil Baty described it as a "shock result", and said Ireland needs to invest to stay competitive.
There was better news, however, for NUI Galway which has broken into the Top 300 - it jumped more than 50 places compared to the last year, and is now in the 251-275 band.
University College Cork is unchanged from last year's book, remaining in the 276-300 range.
Commenting on the results, NUI Galway President Dr Jim Browne said, "despite significant cuts in overall funding at third-level in Ireland and increased student numbers, our University has gone against the tide to secure a consistent improvement in these very competitive rankings."
The rankings contrast to some of the findings in the QS World University Rankings released last month. In that table UCD maintained its ranking from 2013 at position 139, while TCD dropped ten places to 71.
