Students anxious over possible charges

THE Department of Finance last night refused to rule out a rise in university registration fees in this year's estimates' discussions.

However, responding to reports from the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), the Department of Education said there were no plans to hike up fees either this year or in the near future.

The USI yesterday claimed a source in the Department of Education had informed them registration fees would be doubled from €670 to 1€,300.

In the lead up to last year's estimates, the Department of Finance lobbied for a hike in fees to €1,000 saying it would have yielded Exchequer savings of more than €16 million.

At the time the move was rebuffed by the Department of Education, pending its review of all third-level charges, but education sources said the Department of Finance would continue to push strongly for vastly increased charges at third-level this year.

A spokesman for Education Minister Noel Dempsey last night said there would be no fee increase as indicated by the USI but declined to confirm or deny whether any fee hike was being sought by the Department of Finance.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Finance also declined to confirm whether or not a fee hike was being sought. "We could never confirm anything that was or was not coming up during estimate discussions," she said.

The Department of Finance opposed the abolition of third-level fees in 1995 and has long supported increased student charges.

In July last year, there was considerable controversy when the registration charge was increased by 69% to €670. The move led to widespread anger among students as did Education Minister Noel Dempsey's proposal to reintroduce college fees earlier this year.

The USI yesterday threatened a campaign of nationwide protests if the Government made any move to increase the fee to €1,300. Commenting on its fears over a second increase USI deputy president Gareth Keogh said he remained convinced his department sources were correct.

"I firmly believe this is what they're trying to do," he said.

Last week the USI released figures showing the cost of attending college per student per year rose to almost €7,000. The union is demanding an increase in student grants to basic social welfare levels, to prevent students amassing large debts.