Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It was not just an austerity measure; it began increasing from 1997 onwards. As soon as a charge is introduced, it can inevitably be increased. It increased from whatever it was in 1997 to approximately €1,000 within six or seven years. My point is that if the Minister does not have a vision or an absolute of free education at further and third level education, it will always be a measure that will be tinkered with and increased over time. That is the exact experience of the Oireachtas on the initiative of the mid-1990s.

While the Minister is making the right noises as to bringing down the contribution charge in the budget, and I understand he cannot make any promises in that regard or debate the budget in advance, I am trying to get to the core of his vision and belief system. Can we work towards a situation in which we return to where we were in the 1990s, which was an awful lot better for every family that had ambitions for their children to better themselves?

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