New figures from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) suggest that if third-level tuition fees are reintroduced next year the costs facing students and their parents could be extremely high.
The figures show that the cost to the State of providing certain college places ranges from €5,275 to €22,000 a year. If the Government seeks to recoup even a portion of this, the fee increases facing parents and students could be substantial, the figures suggest.
The figures from the HEA show what individual college places cost the exchequer each year. The figures, which cover the year 2000, are the most recently collated by the HEA and have been released under the Freedom of Information Act. They are refered to as "unit cost" figures.
They show that in the year in question an arts or law place in university cost the State €5,275 and an engineering place €8,189, while a business place cost €5,048. These figures, while high, would certainly be higher if collected for 2002.
The highest figures were for healthcare courses such as dentistry and veterinary medicine. For example, it cost universities (and consequently the State) almost €22,000 to provide a single dentistry place and more than €18,000 for a veterinary medicine place. In 2000 a medicine place cost the exchequer about €7,700. The cost of medical places is kept down because the teaching hospitals absorb a portion of the charges.
The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, is currently reviewing funding arrangements at third level and has said that fees should be levied on those "who can afford them".
If Mr Dempsey reintroduces fees, those who are levied are likely to face high charges whatever scheme is agreed on, although the State would probably continue to absorb a certain portion of the cost of providing each place.
While the Minister may simply introduce a flat fee across the third-level system, this would mean students on less expensive courses such as law, business and arts would subsidise students on more expensive courses.
The figures also show that similar courses varied in cost between the universities. For example, a science place at UCD or TCD cost €7,364, compared to almost €8,000 at DCU. In relation to engineering, a place at UCD cost €8,130, compared to €9,200 at DCU.
Courses that rely on laboratory equipment and computers tend to cost colleges most. Because of the high costs, the number of medical and dentistry places is generally low compared to arts or business places.
The figures from the HEA also reveal the high cost of providing postgraduate places in the university system. For example, an arts or law research-based postgraduate course cost €9,822, while postgraduate courses in science carried costs of up to €23,000.