Opposition parties yesterday criticised the Minister for Education for commissioning yet another report on third-level education, saying this was simply an attempt to buy time and save face after his Cabinet colleagues thwarted his ambition to bring back college fees. Mark Brennock, Chief Political Correspondent, reports.
Fine Gael's education spokeswoman, Ms Olwyn Enright, claimed the review of third-level education sought by the Minister for Education from the Organisation for European Co-operation and Development (OECD) was a "stalling tactic".
She called on the Government to say that it would not reintroduce fees. "That is why Fine Gael is taking our campaign to the streets, to encourage people to make their voices heard on this vital issue.
"All reasonable protest must be supported if the Taoiseach and his Minister are to finally understand the frustrations of the people."
Labour's education spokeswoman, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, claimed the commissioning of the OECD report was "nothing short of an attempt to save the Minister's job at the Cabinet table and provide succour to the cantankerous junior partners in Government".
Speaking at a USI press conference on third-level fees in Dublin, she said the proposal would "lead to even more uncertainty and distress for tens of thousands of students and their families, with a possible review taking years rather than months.
"The proposal to invite the OECD to conduct a review of third-level education in Ireland is confirmation that the Minister's own review of recent months is about to be torn up because of the isolation of Noel Dempsey within the Cabinet and Fianna Fáil."
She called on Mr Dempsey to publish his own review and his proposals for the future funding of third-level education. "Why has the OECD proposal suddenly surfaced despite a solemn promise from the Taoiseach in the Dáil that the issue would be resolved before the Leaving Cert begins in two weeks' time?"
The Green Party's education spokesman, Mr Paul Gogarty, said the decision of the Minister for Education to commission the OECD report "is more about dealing with the current political hot potato than about increasing access to third-level education for the underprivileged".
He criticised the Government for getting involved in "internal infighting" on fees on the eve of the beginning of the Leaving Cert. He also criticised it for allowing the debate on the issue take place in the media rather than in the Dáil.