Students will pay €500 more after fees U-turn [Independent.ie]
- Published: 31 May 2011
EDUCATION Minister Ruairi Quinn performed a U-turn on a key election promise last night by admitting he wouldn't reverse a €500 hike in college registration fees.
And the minister refused to rule out the introduction of third-level fees and further student charges -- another pre-election pledge.
The Labour Party minister admitted the student registration charge will rise to €2,000 per student in September -- despite promising before the general election that he would not support the €500 increase.
Mr Quinn refused to be drawn on whether there would be a re-introduction of fees to offset a funding crisis in the third-level sector.
The Government is now expected to make a decision on that by the end of the year.
If fees, loans or new charges are brought in, they would kick in from the September 2012 academic year.
The issue is set to be another bone of contention between the coalition partners.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
