Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

There is a big debate in this area. I belong to a political and ideological tradition that believes that all high earners should pay high levels of income tax at the upper level. That system catches everybody. The money can then be redistributed. That is one way of doing it. Participation in third level education has increased, in terms of overall numbers, since fees were abolished in 1996. The current student services charge is a fee, in effect. The minimum fee for undergraduate students is €2,000. The fee for postgraduate work like a master's degree is €5,000. Students are paying.

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