The chairman of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), Dr Don Thornhill, has reopened the debate on college tuition fees with a significant address this week. At a National University of Ireland conference, he suggested that fees should be paid by all students once they reach fourth year in college.
This would not inhibit access to third-level for poorer groups and would only impose a fee on students shortly before they settle on a career choice. Speaking in a personal capacity, he also suggested a loans scheme, where fees could be repaid by graduates at low interest rates.
The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, who is in the US, has yet to respond to the remarks. Earlier this year, he said that the return of fees - abolished by the Rainbow government almost a decade ago - was off the political agenda for the "foreseeable future". Mr Dempsey was forced to abandon his plans to bring back fees in the face of vigorous Cabinet and public opposition.
In his address, Dr Thornhill made a compelling case for new sources of funding for colleges. "It is unlikely that Ireland will be able to sustain internationally competitive third-level institutions without private funding," he said. He painted a bleak picture of under-investment in the sector; Irish universities' income per student is lagging well behind other developed states.
The irony is that this State continues to retain lofty ambitions about building a knowledge-based economy. This, we are told, would be built on expertise drawn from a world class third-level sector. But there remains a disconnect between these ambitions and the reality on the ground. In the past year, the universities have seen their research funding frozen and then, six month later, suddenly re-activated in last week's Estimates. The same Estimates provided no additional budget to meet benchmarking and other bills. The university presidents have already signalled that courses will have to be abandoned, laboratories shut and staff contracts cancelled in order to make ends meet.
Which brings us back to the need for new sources of revenue. A fees regime of the type suggested by Dr Thornhill has much to recommend it. It would generate new revenue and it would not, of itself, inhibit access for poorer students.
But a re-examination of the fee issues should be one component of a more thorough examination of the funding needs of the entire third-level sector. The Government cannot just expect the third-level sector to be at the cutting edge. It must ensure that the colleges are given the critical resources they need to do the job.