Moreover, the university presidents have gone on public record stating that when the student service charge increased, they used it to fund other activities. Professor John Hughes, President of NUI Maynooth, stated: "We agree with Deputy Hayes [of Fine Gael who had stated] that when the core grant has reduced on occasion, the student services charge has increased to offset the reductions in the core grant, but the universities have not been involved in [the] decision [to do so]." The former president of DCU agreed with this statement and stated: "It is a wholly unacceptable situation and the position students are in is terrible." As reductions in the core grant and increases in the student services charge take place, it is inevitable that one must consider how income from those two sources is being distributed. If one source is reduced while the other increases, redistribution will be necessary. It would be a lot more honest for the Tánaiste to acknowledge that student fees have been introduced, rather than calling it what it is not, namely, a student service charge.

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