THE RETURN of third-level fees is no longer being ruled out as the Government seeks to ensure the universities are properly funded, Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe has said.
In a significant policy change, Mr O'Keeffe told The Irish Times that third-level fees were back on the agenda. However he stressed there was no question of imposing new charges on those who could not afford them.
Any new charges would specifically target better-off families and those with incomes well above the national average.
The Minister stressed that any move in this direction would require Government approval.
While the programme for government promised no return of college tuition fees, Mr O'Keeffe said this commitment was predicated on robust economic growth of 4.5 per cent. Clearly, the economic parameters had now changed, he said.
Mr O'Keeffe said he had a responsibility as Minister to ensure the high quality of the third-level sector was maintained.
"If we are in a situation where the economy is weak, I have to ensure that high standards in our third-level colleges are maintained."
He said his department would conduct a "forensic audit" of third-level spending before making any decision, focusing on specific universities and institutes of technology. "I want to see how the colleges are spending the existing funds. I want to make sure we are getting full value for money."
The abolition of fees in the mid- 1990s led to much wider participation at third level, but it has also seen a boom in private education. About one in four second-level students in Dublin attend fee-paying schools or grind schools, charging more than €5,000 a year.
There is a growing belief in Government circles that better-off parents should be asked to support much- needed investment in higher education through fee reintroduction.
There is also growing support in education circles for a graduate tax scheme, based on the Australian model which has been in operation for more than a decade. This would see graduates repay the cost of higher education through their taxes.
Mr O'Keeffe's initiative comes as third-level colleges struggle to cope with a deepening funding crisis. He is due to meet university heads to consider the issue next month.
Last month, the seven university heads warned that cutbacks in degree courses and support services were inevitable as the Government moved to impose a 3 per cent cut in payroll costs. The colleges have also been ordered to impose a 50 per cent cut in their marketing and advertising spend next year.
Earlier this year, UCD president Dr Hugh Brady and TCD provost Dr John Hegarty made an unprecedented joint appeal for greater funding to allow Irish universities to compete internationally. They said universities had suffered a 40 per cent cut in net funding in the past decade. A majority of the seven universities are now running a budget deficit.
University heads say the Government's ambition to establish world-class universities is unrealistic given current funding levels, which lag well behind those available to competing universities in Britain and the EU.
