Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That was a bit of a mixed answer in a sense. It is not good enough to say that we are not as bad as others. We have the highest rate in this regard in the EU. In the last decade or so, according to the Irish Universities Association, IUA, we have seen the State embark on a sustained period of disinvestment from higher education. We have seen a withdrawal of the State from higher education. The third-level institutions are being given 50% less funding per student than in 2008. That is 72% less, if we account for inflation, and therefore very close to a reduction of three quarters in funding per student. The facts speak for themselves. The costs were pushed onto students and families, and fees were increased from €850 in 2008 to €3,000 today. It is an issue of equality of access. If we want an equal and fair education system, this barrier must be removed. Education is a public good, and it must be treated and invested in as such.

There is a great unfairness regarding the contribution fee for those leaving certificate students from last year who found out that their grades had been upgraded in the leaving certificate examinations they sat in November. They got their results and were again charged that contribution fee. I ask the Minister to address that point as well.

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