When the private colleges arrived on the scene to offer third-level degree programmes to students who had failed to achieve places in the public sector, they were greeted with mixed reactions.

On the one hand, there was jubilation that much-needed extra third-level places were coming on stream. On the other, there was a concern about a lowering of standards - was a degree from a private institution worth the same as a degree from TCD or UCD, for example?

The universities, too, came in for criticism - if the private colleges could offer degrees without the benefit of huge amounts of State support, how come the universities were constantly requesting extra funding to keep going?

The private colleges were regarded, in some quarters, as champions of free enterprise, where market forces ruled. Most of them offered degree programmes which were validated by universities in Britain, many of which were former polytechnics that had been upgraded.

The private colleges took some pride in the fact that students with only the minimum third-level entry requirements - two higher level Leaving Cert grade C3s and passes on four other subjects to include maths and English - could find places in the private sector.

Able youngsters, the colleges argued - and still do - unable to get other third-level places because of the points race now had the opportunity to obtain degrees. In the intervening years, many of the private colleges have begun to offer NCEA-validated programmes. The NCEA is the agency which validates certificate, diploma and degree courses in the institutes of technology.

In some cases, British-validated programmes are being phased out by the colleges.

The NCEA validation has a number of benefits. The fact that it is a locally based and instantly recognised qualification apart, the fees for NCEA-validated courses qualify for 26 per cent tax remission.

This is of particular significance, since, in 1996, the then coalition government removed third-level full-time undergraduate fees in the State sector. Suddenly, fees in the private sector looked expensive. The college argue that, for Dublin parents at least, it's cheaper to send a student to a private college at home than to send students to out-of-Dublin locations. The private colleges have been lobbying the Government to provide free fees to students on NCEA courses in the sector, but so far the Government has refused to budge. Portobello College is taking High Court action against the Minister of State for Education and Science, claiming that by excluding the private colleges from the free-fees scheme, students in the sector are being discriminated against. One of the biggest issues for students embarking on courses in the private sector has been the viability of the particular college. Over the years, a number of spectacular bellyups by private colleges have left students high and dry. Two years ago, the collapse of the Advanced Technology College, in Dublin's Merrion Square, highlighted the need for student protection in the area.

Some colleges have set up trust funds which will ensure that, in the event of collapse, students will be able to complete their courses. Until now these bonding schemes have operated on an entirely voluntary and unregulated basis. Thanks, however, to new legislation - the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999 - bonding is now compulsory for all courses leading to qualifications from State awarding bodies.

In July, during the last stages of the bill, the Minister for Education and Science, Micheal Martin, told the Seanad that "commercial profit-making providers will be required to have in place arrangements to ensure that learners can be provided with the education and training services which they have paid for, or, if this is not possible, that the learners can be refunded monies paid . . . . In addition and without prejudice to the providers, the two awarding councils will be obliged to make efforts to find replacement provision for learners who suffer from such an insolvency."

According to Portobello College, however, these requirements are insufficient. "We have a seven figure sum on deposit with AIB which (in the event of failure) will ensure that the trustees can run the college until everyone can finish their courses," notes Guy Flouch, spokesperson for Portobello. "If the college is strong enough it can afford a proper bond."