FG’s 10-year student grad tax

STUDENTS will pay a graduation tax for 10 years after leaving college under new Fine Gael proposals to fund higher education.

The initiative would see 30% of the cost of third level courses raised via a PRSI contribution.

Registration charges, set to rise to e1,500 later this year, would also be abolished. The party’s education spokesperson Brian Hayes claims it would eventually raise e500 million annually.