€500 rise in third-level 'fee' cannot be revoked, says Quinn [IrishTimes]
- Published: 08 July 2011
MINISTER FOR Education Ruairí Quinn cannot reverse the €500 increase in the student contribution fee at third level because Ireland has “lost control over our own chequebook”.
Speaking in the Dáil during education questions he said he was “determined to return to a point at which the Government has the economic freedom to make freely-determined decisions” but they were not there yet and “the next two budgets must ensure that we reach that point quickly”.
Sinn Féin education spokesman Seán Crowe had called on the Minister to drop the €500 increase in third-level charges for students, which brings the annual cost for a student to €2,000. Mr Crowe said many families were now having to decide “which son or daughter will be pulled out of education”.
He also highlighted particular difficulties for students who were lone parents and outside the threshold for grant-in-aid. He said “their chances of moving to full-time education, moving on with their lives and breaking the cycle of familial poverty will be gone” because of the fee increase.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
