Dr. Emer Smyth:

There is a very high wage premium in Ireland, despite what we have heard from our colleagues about precarity, to a third level degree. For every €1,000 someone with a leaving certificate qualification earns, a university graduate will earn €1,700. That is among people in their mid-20s to mid-30s. We know there are social returns, about which we have heard from our colleagues, and there are very high individual rates of return to investment in education. It would seem fair, given the profile of students is more advantaged than those of the second level student population, that they should contribute to the cost of their education and help ensure sustainability as well as equity.