Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

The only way we can do so is by trading and balancing our way out of the deficit of €9 billion. The Deputy could close down the entire expenditure of the Department of Education and Skills in the morning and we would still have a deficit of €1 billion. I will engage in debate with him if he will discuss reality on a platform of reality.

Concerning fees, every public service has a cost. The real issue is access to that service and whether a cost barrier exists by way of a charge at point of entry. There is no charge at point of entry for primary or secondary school. It was the Labour Party in Government in the 1990s which removed existing anomalies and abolished fees for undergraduate courses. It is not desirable that a new barrier should exist to prevent the socioeconomic groups we are trying to get into the third level sector from participating. I asked the Higher Education Authority to find ways in which we can look at the funding of the third level sector in order to avoid that possibility. I have not changed my values or attitudes in regard to access to third level education.

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