Degree plans could cost students up to €100,000

BECOMING a dentist or a doctor will no longer require a six-As Leaving Certificate — but the privilege could cost up to €100,000 under Government proposals announced last night.

The move will ease pressure on degrees only accessible to school leavers who obtain the highest grades, as it is now proposed that entry will only be open to holders of a primary degree.

However, because free tuition fees only apply to undergraduate courses, anybody taking up a postgraduate course in human and veterinary medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and other health sciences would have to pay their way through the extra three or four years of college.