Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister mentioned the financial crash. In 2008, when the registration fee was first increased by a significant amount - by 67%, as I recall - I had just started college. Students came together to protest outside Leinster House, in Galway and all over the country. They knew that fee was simply the start of what was to come and, indeed, it has increased massively since then. It certainly is true that people will be pleased to see some money going back into their pockets by way of the reduction in the charge. The problem is that we need a view of the long term. People want to know the reduction of €1,000 will be permanent, with a view to the charge bring abolished. We talk about free fees. We see the benefits of free secondary school education, how transformative it was for so many people and how fantastic it has been for society. That is the kind of vision we need for third level education.

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