Government rift deepens over college fees plan

THE rift in the Government over the return of third-level fees deepened yesterday as Tánaiste Mary Harney and Minister for Education Noel Dempsey stuck hard to their conflicting stances.

The prospect of a new international study on third-level education being used as a get-out clause from the present trenchant positions was also scuppered.

Denying that an Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development report on third-level education was a way out of his controversial position, Mr Dempsey said the report was a separate issue from third-level fees.