Madam, - I am a Bulgarian who has been working in Ireland for more than 5 years. I have been paying taxes here since I came to this country.
My elder daughter got a master's degree in Ireland, and for which I paid €8,000 for her one-year course because she did not have 3-years residency in the State prior to her application.
I expected my younger daughter, who has lived in Ireland for 5 years, to be able to study like an Irish citizen according to previous rules. She is a Leaving Certificate student, taking her exams in June, and intends to go to university in Ireland.
To my intense surprise the rules for students like her, non-nationals who have lived in the country more than 3 years, have been changed. We are expected to pay on average €4,500 in annual fees, which, I suppose, will rise in line with annual inflation.
I think this decision is discriminatory and offensive to all students whose parents pay taxes in Ireland.
When we pay taxes we are equal to Irish people, but we are denied rights to equal admittance to the educational system. I feel that our children are not welcome to Irish universities and the State wants them out of this country. The only option we have is to send them abroad.
I believe that Department for Education and Science and especially Minister Noel Dempsey should reverse this decision, which is unfair and discriminatory to all these people who have made their contribution to Irish society but are not treated equally and with respect. - Yours, etc.,
ROUMIANA DIRIMANOVA, Maynooth Park, Maynooth, Co Kildare.