Seanad debates
Wednesday, 21 May 2003
Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion.
The Minister has a real commitment to the ideal of giving everybody an equal chance and equal access and opportunity, not the slogan of free education. All the surveys show that people would benefit from this approach. In England, men with a three year university degree get a quantifiable benefit of a 17% increase in their earnings while women get a 37% increase. That is what they get for the rest of their lives. Why should the State not get some of this money back to redirect it? This is not covetousness nor envy. I say to those who are well off, why not share a little with those who are not so advantaged? Why not set up a system where, for example, tax clawbacks would be available? This means that parents would not have to take their free holiday at the expense of the company in the form of a career break of whatever.
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