A chara, - In her self congratulatory article of July 30th, Niamh Bhreathnach seems to have missed the answer to her own question: "Why did all hell break loose when the commentators realised that I was going to open the gates of our third-level institutions for all qualifying undergraduates?"
The answer to this can be found in her attitude in this same article when she consoles couples on an income level of £60,000 that, while they may have lost the tax relief of a deed of covenant, "the principle of relief or help towards funding for education expenditure would remain intact" - i.e. families on an income level of £60,000 are now going to gain free fees, thereby "opening the gates of our third level institutions" for their children.
The problem which arises here, and which answers the former Minister's earlier question, is that while this benefits in some way a family on this level of income, it does nothing to "open the gates" for the children of families from a low income or unemployed background, those who would potentially benefit most from access to third-level education.
The situation which still remains, even after the abolition of fees at undergraduate level (although not for postgraduate students), is that a student from an unemployed background, studying away from home, has to survive on an average of £45 per week, over £20 per week less than they would get on the dole. Out of this sum they have to pay for accommodation (which can be over £30 per week in student areas of Dublin), transport, food and text books, which cost at least £20 each. It is this reality which is denying many suitably qualified individuals access to third-level education.
If the former Minister was really concerned about "opening the gates of third-level education" to those who are excluded from it, rather than pandering to middle-class Labour supporters in Dublin, she would have focused on people from lower-income and unemployed backgrounds, those who are being most excluded from education, and have given them an adequate grant to enable them to actually be able to afford third-level education. - Is mise,
From Seamus Doran,
29 College Court Drive, Castletroy, Limerick.