A leading education figure has moved to reopen the debate on third-level fees. Dr Don Thornhill, chairman of the Higher Education Authority, has suggested that fees should be paid by all students once they have completed three years in university.
Dr Thornhill was addressing a National University of Ireland conference in Dublin Castle yesterday.
Making his remarks in a personal capacity, Dr Thornhill said the current funding crisis facing the third-level sector - and its huge dependence on State funds - meant that there were few other alternatives.
"It is unlikely that Ireland will be able to sustain internationally competitive third-level institutions without increased private funding," he said.
A new system of introducing fees in the fourth year of study would help ensure it would not inhibit access for poorer students, he said. For those paying fees, a new loan system could also be introduced with fees repaid through taxation, he suggested.
The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, has said that the issue of college fees is off the political agenda "for the foreseeable future", but Dr Thornhill's intervention underlines how the issue remains alive.
It is widely expected that the Paris-based OECD will also make the case for the return of college fees in its major review of the Irish third-level system, due next summer.
A former secretary of the Department of Education, Dr Thornhill is one of the most influential figures in Irish education.
Last April, Mr Dempsey was forced to abandon his plans to reintroduce college fees in the face of robust opposition from the PDs. He had planned to introduce a fees regime for families earning over €100,000 and use these funds to help widen access to third level.
There was also intense speculation about the possible introduction of an Australian-stye "study now, pay later" loan scheme.
Dr Thornhill outlined how resource problems at third-level could undermine the Republic's aim of building a cutting-edge knowledge economy.
Income per student in Irish universities, he said, lagged behind other states. Excluding research income, average income per student in Irish universities was €9,700 compared to over €16,000 in Queen's University Belfast and up to €28,000 per student in one Dutch university.
In a general review of the sector, he said Irish universities needed to dispel the impression that they were slow to change and inflexible in meeting emerging needs. The sector needed to respond much more fully to public concerns about accountability and performance.
On governance, he argued for a new model in which there was much wider external representation on university boards.
Dr Thornhill's comments come in the wake of last week's Estimates, where day-to-day spending was cut back.
The Conference of Heads of Irish Universities has said that courses may have to be abandoned and vacant posts left unfilled as colleges struggle with a reduced budget.
