Dáil debates

Wednesday, 8 June 2011

3:00 pm

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

The failure of the Government to reverse the €500 increase in the student service charge is already a significant betrayal of the promises the Labour Party made before the election. I believe "fighting to defend free education tooth and nail" was the expression used. In that context, I must express great concern as, I suspect, many students do, about recent comments by the Minister, who stated there was no such thing as free education and that he would look seriously at how third level education would be funded. That, along with the review he mentioned, leads me to believe that people, students in particular, should be very much afraid about plans to abandon yet another promise made before the election to defend free education and the extreme likelihood that fees are to be reintroduced in some shape or form.

I wish to hear an assurance that this will not happen. There are more important people than me who wish to hear this, namely students. In addition, they wish to have an assurance in regard to the already unacceptable €500 increase in the service charge and the reductions in grants. The pay many students receive for weekend work may now come under attack via the attack, or review, of the joint labour committees, JLCs and the registered employment agreements, REAs. They need to know they do not face yet another attack in the form of student fees.

The Minister knows, and if it were six months ago he would be saying what I say, that the introduction of fees would be a major disincentive to enter third level education, particularly for the less well-off in our society. It would make a mockery of any proposals to develop a knowledge economy to aid economic recovery. Will the Minister give the House an assurance that no tuition fees will be introduced, in any shape or form?

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