Madam, - As a student of UCD I find Proinsias De Rossa's position (February 20th) totally devoid of reality. Any visitor to UCD can see clearly that our third-level sector is underfunded. This is, of course, unacceptable given the importance of third-level education to our economy.
As there are no fees the Government is forced to bear the enormous cost of funding third-level education. This is no longer feasible as other sectors which serve a larger and more representative part of the population require more and more funding as costs escalate.
Fees must be reinstated. Those who cannot pay should not; those who can pay should pay as the benefits of further education are well known.
Our institutions are increasingly being forced to compete for our brightest students and will not be able to do so if they are not well funded. Research in these institutions is suffering due to lack of funding and so in turn so will the economy.
It is ridiculous that people who are more than happy to pay for secondary education get third-level education free. The internationally respected OECD agrees. Mr De Rossa will not create an egalitarian paradise by advocating free fees for everyone but will only sound the death knell for our crumbling third-level institutions. - Yours, etc.,
DAVID BOYD,
St John's Wood,
Clondalkin,
Dublin 22.