PRIVATE SCHOOL FEES:ONE FIFTH of current university undergraduate students in the Republic paid fees at second-level, according to a new Irish Times survey.
At UCD more than 43 per cent of current undergraduates came from either fee-paying schools or grind schools.
At Trinity College almost 3,000 students, or 27 per cent, attended private education at second level.
The new figures are certain to play a part in the fresh debate on the possible return of third-level fees. Privately, some Government figures say any fees should target those who can afford to pay for private education at second level.
The new figures reflect the boom in private education since fees were abolished in the mid-1990s. Since then demand for places in fee-paying schools has surged.
There has also been a dramatic increase in the number of grind schools. At UCD alone more than 1,000 of its current undergraduates completed their Leaving Cert in the Institute of Education in Dublin, the best-known grind school in the State.
Outside of south Dublin the percentages decrease, with just 14 per cent of the undergraduate population of DCU on Dublin's northside having paid for secondary schooling.
The University of Limerick has the highest proportion of undergraduates educated in the State school system, with just over 500 or 6 per cent of its students having been educated privately or in grind schools like Limerick Tutorial College.
The proportion drawn from private colleges is relatively low (15 per cent) at NUI Maynooth, a college with a good reputation for access to education.
Similar statistics can be seen in NUI Galway and UCC in which 12 per cent and 14 per cent of students have gone through private education respectively.
The cost of private education in fee-paying schools is low in the Republic compared to Britain and the US. Fees here average about €4,000 per year, compared with at least three times that figure elsewhere. This is because the Government pays the salaries of teachers in fee-paying schools - at a cost of some €80 million per year.
Grind schools like the Institute of Education charge about €7,000 per year but they receive no support from the State. The surge in private education since the abolition of college fees has had a negative impact on many "free'' State schools in Dublin.
Enrolment in many State schools has collapsed, including venerable institutions such as Synge Street and St Joseph's CBS in Dublin. Some schools such as Presentation in Glasthule, Dublin, and Greendale Community School in north Dublin have even been forced to close because of falling numbers.
In contrast, places are hugely coveted in virtually all fee-paying schools. Most now have long waiting lists for entry. Whereas grind schools were once a Dublin-only phenomenon, they can now be found in virtually every large provincial town and city.
For example, both Yeats College, Galway, and Limerick Tutorial College are among the main feeder schools for the universities in their region.