Minister for Education Mary Hanafin has moved to dampen growing speculation about the possible return of third-level fees.
Yesterday, the Minister categorically ruled out their return during the lifetime of the Government, despite complaints from university presidents about "a deepening financial crisis".
Ms Hanafin said the abolition of fees had helped to widen access to college significantly. It was vital, she said, that as many people as possible would continue to have the opportunity to participate in third-level education.
The seven college heads are due to meet Ms Hanafin, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen and other senior Ministers next month. But Ms Hanafin declared that the return of fees was off the agenda.
The Government, she said, was acutely conscious of the need for greater investment in third-level and the social and economic benefits this brings: "That is why we have doubled the level of funding in the past decade," she said.
She also pointed out how the National Development Plan (NDP) included a €13 billion commitment to the third-level sector.
On fees, she said the colleges needed to realise that the Department of Finance, which provides funding in lieu of fees to the colleges, would not be giving then "double money", even if fees were ever to return.
The Fianna Fáil pre-election manifesto ruled out the return of fees but the programme for government makes no such explicit commitment. But Ms Hanafin said this was merely an oversight.
Earlier this week, university presidents, through their representative group the Irish University Association (IUA), stepped up their campaign to highlight their "funding crisis".
Last week, colleges received their funding for next year under a new, more transparent system. This links funding to the kind of courses on offer, instead of just focusing on student numbers. While some colleges have prospered under the system, others, such as UCD and Trinity, must make do with a reduced share of overall third-level support.
Ms Hanafin said the colleges themselves had signed up to the new funding system and the IUA has acknowledged how it represented a better and fairer system.
"The reality is that there is a 7 per cent increase in funding for higher education this year."
The Minister acknowledged a situation in which some students paid for private second-level education, but later enjoyed free third-level education, was a "stage anomaly. But this needed to be put in overall perspective; only about 50 second-level schools in the State were fee-paying."
Ms Hanafin also signalled her support for the controversial "reform process" in UCC, UCD and other colleges. The Government, she said, was encouraged to see some colleges moving away from the old ways of working and embracing more modern methods.
Despite the Minister's comments, the IUA is set to continue its campaign to highlight the financial pressures on colleges.
