The Progressive Democrats last night came out strongly against the Minister for Education's proposals for third-level college fees for well-off families.Asked in Brussels about the proposed reintroduction of fees, the Tánaiste and PD leader, Ms Harney, said: "I believe the way you collect taxes from the rich is through the general taxation system. The party's position is against it. We made that clear at our party conference". Denis Staunton and Mark Hennessy report.
"There's no commitment in the Programme for Government, as you know, to introduce college fees."
Attending a meeting of EU enterprise ministers, Ms Harney declined to say if she would try to block the reintroduction of fees when the Cabinet discusses the issue. She acknowledged it was an issue on which she felt strongly.
"I generally feel strongly about the things I have views on," she told The Irish Times.
The other PD member of the Cabinet, Mr McDowell, said on Questions and Answers on RTE television last night that the party was opposed to third-level fees. There was a real legal issue involved, he said - it was not possible, legally, for 18-year olds to command their parents to pay fees.
Mr McDowell said that the fees proposals reported in the press yesterday had not been put to him in any shape or form, and his party had not been consulted about them.
Last week, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, backed the reintroduction of fees, though only for those with a family income running into "several hundreds of thousands of euro".
The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, argues that fees are necessary to improve the chances of children from poorer communities getting into third level, and to improve the financial health of colleges and universities.
The Irish Times revealed yesterday that the Minister is considering imposing an €8,000 fee for those studying medicine and other high-cost courses, while the fees for humanities courses would be €4,000.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children, Fianna Fáil TD Mr Batt O'Keeffe, opposed the return of fees on the grounds it could cut the number of students opting for third level. He said that the number of 18-year-olds leaving second level would drop by 4 per cent a year over the next decade. "The figures are quite staggering. We could end up not being able to fill our colleges."
The reintroduction of fees would have put even those families earning up to €100,000 a year in "major financial straits", he added.
The issue could be raised again at tonight's meeting of the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party, amid growing concern about the Minister's plans amongst party backbenchers.
Fianna Fáil Dublin North TD Mr Jim Glennon supported the initiative. "I have a lot of time for Noel Dempsey and what he is trying to do," he said.
However, the income thresholds would have to be high enough to exclude most income-earners, he said.