Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Is Fine Gael and the Government still planning to introduce income contingent loans for third level students?

As the Tánaiste knows, the report from the committee headed by Mr. Peter Cassells, Investing in National Ambition, set out three funding options for the third level sector, including a predominantly State-funded system, a system of increased State funding with continuing registration fees and the recommended third funding option, increased State funding with deferred payment of fees but with income-contingent loans levied on graduates.

The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton, informed me and Deputy Pringle on 5 April that his Department is undertaking what he termed "a technical evaluation" of how income-contingent loans would work. He seems to have pushed ahead with this study without consulting the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Skills. When will the technical evaluation be published and will it include a full cost-benefit analysis? Before the Minister gave this reply last month I chaired a meeting with the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, attended by a cross-section of Deputies. The union leaders, Ms Annie Hoey, Mr. Michael Kerrigan and their colleagues outlined powerful arguments against proceeding with student income-contingent loans. Internationally, where student loan schemes have been introduced, there are large-scale debt default rates. In Australia, for example, outstanding debt is over 35 billion Australian dollars, with average student debt at almost 40,000 Australian dollars per graduate. In England, the poorest 40% of students will graduate with debts of nearly £44,000 and the "financialisation" or sale of student debt to the private sector is another reprehensible feature of the English system.

The Minister, Deputy Bruton, along with the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, and I represent a constituency with districts where third level access is below 20%, and in many parishes it is just 35% or under that level. The introduction of student loans would have a further damaging impact on progression and access to third level education, especially for important sectors of society, including students with a disability, lone parents, first-time mature students, part-time and flexible learners, students from a farming background and students on grants.

One insuperable argument against income-contingent loans is the Irish tradition of emigration and the fact we are an emigrant nation. The Higher Education Authority recently indicated that 12% of graduates emigrate for a first job. The USI estimates that nearly 4,000 additional graduates will emigrate to avoid repayment of large graduate loans. Does the Tánaiste agree that one fundamental reason for not proceeding with income-contingent loans would be the major ongoing cost to the State as outlined at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Skills last Tuesday by Dr. Charles Larkin of Trinity College Dublin and Dr. Shaen Corbet of Dublin City University? They oppose income-contingent loans and characterise them as a very risky course of action for the Exchequer, with complex legislative set-up, administration and loan recovery systems, costing the State €10 billion over the first ten years.

Is Fine Gael still determined to introduce income-contingent loans given the party's opposition to treating third level education as a critical public good in the 2016 general election? The party's partners in Fianna Fáil are of course sitting on the fence with this, despite 2017 being the 50th anniversary of the great Donogh O'Malley introducing free second level education.

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