The long-awaited Hunt Report on higher education was formally launched by Minister for Education, Mary Coughlan today.
The report backs student fees and loans in order to allow hard-pressed colleges deal with record levels of student demand - while playing a key role in economic recovery.
The National Strategy for Higher Education charts a course for higher education over the next 20 years.
On the new student loans, Ms Coughlan said: "It is not my intention that students should be left with an unmanageable debt burden upon graduation; rather, students should make an equitable contribution to the overall cost of the significant economic advantage they gain from higher education".
The response to the report has been somewhat lukewarm with critics claiming it "lacks new ideas" and represents a "missed opportunity''.
Today, Ms Coughlan defended the report which she said provided a comprehensive overview the issues facing the higher education sector. These issues, she said, would have to be faced by future governments irrespective of their political hue.
The report was prepared by an expert group chaired by Dr Colin Hunt, a former advisor to Brian Cowen in the Department of Finance.
Key recommendations include:
*A smaller number of higher education institutions of greater strength and critical mass;
*The potential for some of the 14 institutes of technology to be redesignated as Technological Universities;
* A beefed role for the Higher Education Authority;
*Parity of esteem between full and part time students in the provision of grant support;
*New measure to ensure public funding for the colleges is more aligned to national priorities and needs;
* Moves toward a more performance oriented system, with much more transparent flows of data ;
*Greater interaction between our higher education and enterprise sectors.
*A new performance framework within which publicly funded higher education institutions will be held accountable to Government for their performance against defined national priorities and
*Changes in the composition of college Governing Bodies. These should be smaller in number with a majority drawn from outside the college.
Speaking at the launch the Tánaiste said: "This strategy contains detailed recommendations for the development of a modern, flexible and responsive higher education system that is ready to meet the new challenges of the next twenty years in supporting Ireland's economic renewal and growth.
"It envisages a system that is more accessible to a much greater range of people, is more engaged with the enterprise sector and wider community and has high quality and innovative provision of teaching and research as its hallmark."
The report, she said, clearly identifies the tension between growth in participation, costs and the quality of education provided and concludes that further growth in numbers is not sustainable without an expansion of the funding base.
On the new Technological Universities the Minister said: "The criteria for re-designation will be robust and will be based on the strong foundation of the existing Institute of Technology sector mission. Initial work on development of the criteria has already commenced and international expertise has now been engaged to assist in their finalisation. I expect their publication for public and stakeholder consultation late this spring".
Ms Coughlan has established an an Implementation Board tasked with overseeing implementation and delivery on the range of essential internal reforms and developments recommended in the Strategy. This will be chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills, Brigid McManus.
Fine Gael said the report highlighted the dire need for funding reform at third level as well as the complete inaction over 14 years by successive Fianna Fáil governments to plan for growth in this area.
The party's education spokesman, Fergus O'Dowd said Fianna Fáil's only response to the €500 million deficit at third level has been to put added pressure on families by introducing 'fees by the backdoor'.
"The Hunt Report, as other reports have done, shows just how Ireland's funding model for third level is not working for students, colleges or parents.
"Despite being in power for almost 14 years, Fianna Fáil has completely failed to tackle the funding issue and has instead reintroduced 'fees by the backdoor'. The annual €2,000 upfront payment is crippling families and must be replaced with a more sustainable and fairer approach."
Labour's Ruairí Quinn said the long delay in publishing the report - finalised last July - is inexplicable at one level but indicative of the lack of urgency within the department to confront important issues.
He said report is particularly vague on the controversial issue of undergraduate fees. "It fails to recognise that students already make a direct financial contribution for part time and postgraduate courses and that all undergraduates currently pay a €1,500 student charge, which will rise to €2000 next September."
The report's conclusions on this aspect of financing are vague, poorly described, not quantified in any manner and would receive a D mark if submitted as an answer to a commerce degree exam, he said.
