© The Author(s) 2017. The Irish higher education sector has evolved significantly over the past 20 years. This chapter details the most prominent changes in the sector over that period and discusses the role that economics can play in informing policy. It first describes the Irish higher education system, while also providing stylised facts relating to educational attainment, participation and financing. It then provides the policy background for a range of relevant issues within Irish higher education, as well as highlighting the specific contributions that economics can make. The chapter identifies a shortage of economic analysis in policy decision-making within the Irish higher education sector to date, with the collection of research presented in this book providing a step towards bridging this divide.