John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I refer to media comments over the weekend about third level registration fees. The Green Party has prided itself for some time on being the party of education in government. We are led to believe it is not willing to support an increase in the registration fee to €3,000 but that it is willing to support an increase to €2,500. I ask the Deputy Leader to state whether this is correct. I am someone who benefited from free third level fees as I do not come from a privileged background. The imposition of such high registration fees is the reintroduction of tuition fees by the back door. There is no doubt that for families of modest means this will be an impediment to students going on to third level education. The Fine Gael proposal, which has been in the public domain for 12 months, is that when people qualify and get a job, they will be in a position to pay back some of the cost of their education. Currently, we have a system where we educate people to a very high standard in our third level institutions but we export them all over the world and there is no return for the State from the investment it makes and that is most unsatisfactory.

Something highlighted to me a couple of weeks ago by students was the similarities between the University of Edinburgh and University College Dublin. They are very similar in terms of size and yet in UCD, the percentage of the budget spent on salaries and pensions is 72% compared with 34% or 35% in the University of Edinburgh which is a shocking difference between universities that deal with largely the same number of students. There is something wrong there. Before we look at imposing huge increases in registration fees, which will mean people from modest backgrounds will not go on to third level education, we should look at reducing that 72% figure.

I agree wholeheartedly with Senator Quinn's point on quangos. Senator Donohoe raised the issue of the budget earlier. When publishing its four year strategy later this month, the Government should look at the possibility of bringing forward budget day to give, as Senator O'Toole has said on numerous occasions, certainty to people who are anxious about what will be contained in it but who want some degree of hope and leadership for the future.