Madam, - Ger Lennon (May 22nd) says the taxes of lower-income groups go to fund the third-level education of students from the higher income groups, and that there is a clear misrepresentation of society at third level. But the absence of fees is not the reason for such misrepresentation.
Either students from poorer families cannot afford to go to college, which is something to be addressed in terms of the grant, or they are not meeting the required standard for third level, which is determined with complete anonymity. If such students aren't meeting the required standards for third-level, then the primary and secondary schools should be our concern.
Restoring fees would be a retrograde step, if effect treating students as mere pawns of their parents. Free tuition is a be a way for the State could give us a head start in life - and it will recoup much of the expense in terms of the benefit we will provide to the economy.- Yours, etc.,
BRENDAN COFFEY, (First-year student, University of Limerick),
Maynooth, Co Kildare.
Madam, - At long last a Fianna Fáil Minister with principles! Is this a new beginning - or, more likely, the beginning of the end for Mr Dempsey? - Yours, etc.,
J.G. O'DONNELL, West End, Bundoran, Co Donegal.
Madam, - I have a face-saving suggestion for Mr Dempsey. He should impose third-level fees only on students going into third level from fee-paying secondary schools. After all, their parents have demonstrated both an ability and a willingness to pay for their offspring's' education, and can hardly complain if it drags on a bit longer.
Trust me, it is a sure vote-winner. - Yours, etc.,
FRANK NEENAN, Tullow Road, Carlow.
Madam, - Some people, including the Minister for Justice, defend the maintenance of the status quo on fees with the apparently sensible argument that college students have, by and large, reached the age of majority and should be assessed on that basis. Third-level students are, they argue, independent individuals, and it is condescending to treat them as being dependent on their parents.
The argument is ideologically attractive, but based on fantasy. Any of us know that this is not the case - that the vast majority of undergraduates are almost fully dependent on their parents. In fact, many Irish people are now dependent on their parents to some extent well into their late 20s, with property prices forcing them to live at home until that age and after.
It is also impossible to accept the depiction of students as a homogenous group of underprivileged adults - as portrayed by student representatives such as Colm Jordan of the Union of Students in Ireland. They may muster a few thousand protesters when needs be, but given the number of students in the country the poor turnout suggests either that students don't agree with the campaign against Mr Dempsey's proposals (despite the extra burden fees would place on their families), or that the USI has failed to mobilise them.
As in the UK, free fees have stagnated third-level education by creating a system whereby all institutions strive to follow the same university degree model. By contrast, in the US, a staggering range of short- and long-term courses are on offer, with huge price differentials.
Ireland spends more on third-level education as a percentage of GDP than either the US or the UK, yet it cannot safely be said that our third-level system is producing the quality of graduates necessary to establish Ireland as a knowledge economy, and ensure future growth as cheap labour strips the country of low-wage jobs.
The USI needs to bear in mind the long-term interests of its members, and not resort to disingenuous arguments to support its rather weak case. - Yours, etc.,
J. ROSSA McMAHON, Hanover Street, Cork.
Madam, - Anyone who thinks Noel Dempsey or the rest of the Government cares about third-level access for the disadvantaged is living in cloud-cuckoo land.
The only implemented change I have seen recently in this regard has been the 25 per cent cut in the Back To Education allowance for the long-term unemployed, lone parents, etc. Have I missed something? - Yours, etc.,
SIVE CASSIDY, Grange Manor Road, Dublin 16.