Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister for higher education, the Minister for public expenditure and now the Minister for Finance cannot answer the simplest question that will have a life-defining impact on many students who are having conversations today, which will impact the rest of their lives, on whether they can travel to university or college or whether they must find somewhere more local and whether they will be able to afford a place to rent or whether they will have to commute. They do not want to hear what politicians are planning to do at some point in the future. I could stand up here and talk about how Sinn Féin does not want to just keep fees at €2,000 but wants to abolish them, but that will not answer the question being asked today. I will ask the same question that has been put to the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and successive Ministers all week one more time. Will fees be €2,000, as they were last year, or will they be higher? Will the Minister please show people some common decency and come down from his ivory tower and answer that question? People need to know and they need to know today.

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