Taxpayers to foot bill for leap in third-level funding

TAXPAYERS will be asked to fork out “a quantum leap” in funding for universities in the near future after Education Minister Noel Dempsey firmly ruled out the re-introduction of third-level fees last night.

Mr Dempsey said the issue was off the agenda for the Government, despite an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report which recommended a policy reversal on fees.

While acknowledging its political sensitivity, the report backed the re-introduction of fees because of the third-level colleges’ overdependence on State funding.

Following a year-long review of the Irish third-level system, the OECD team found no evidence that the abolition of fees in 1995 had achieved its primary aim of increasing access to college for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Reacting to the findings, Mr Dempsey said it was “very clear and very stark” that without major additional funding, the Government could not realise its plans for the sector.

He acknowledged that the removal of the fees option meant taxpayers would have to fund most of the additional investment.

The minister said such funding was “an absolutely necessity” for the future of Irish education and the wider economy.

“If we do not get a quantum leap in funding in the near future, we will be left behind,” said Mr Dempsey.

“There is no dispute that we need more money at third level. The only dispute is where that comes from.”

Mr Dempsey was forced into an embarrassing U-turn on his plans to re-introduce fees last year following opposition from his Cabinet colleagues, but not before securing an extra €42 million package to improve student grants.

Asked if he felt personally vindicated by the OECD report, Mr Dempsey said his sole motivation in proposing re-introduction of fees was to make access to third level fairer for everyone.

Mr Dempsey said calls for the introduction of means-testing and a student loan scheme did not arise because a decision had already been made on the substantive issue of fees.

The 80-page report also recommends the establishment of a new single body, the Tertiary Education Authority, to replace the existing Higher Education Authority, as well as greater investment in research and the recruitment of more overseas students.

It also advocates major reforms of universities and institutes of technology through a reduction in the size of governing bodies but with the addition of more non-academic members.

The Union of Students of Ireland and the main Opposition parties reacted negatively to the OECD report saying serious under-funding of third-level colleges did not provide justification for the re-introduction of fees.

However, Green Party education spokesperson, Paul Gogarty said the report provided “food for thought” and its recommendations required creative solutions which could not simply rely on the common “no fees” mantras.