THE OPTIMISM of youth is very evident in the second annual Irish Times survey of final year university students, published today. Economic storm clouds may be gathering overhead but our students are supremely confident about their future.
A significant minority expect to be earning €100,000 a year by age 30, while a good number expect to own buy-to-let properties or holiday homes. There is no talk of recession and forced emigration; these are shiny, happy people brimming with confidence.
Perhaps, we should not be too surprised by the upbeat nature of the findings. Those surveyed - more than 2,000 final year university students - are the "boom generation". For the most part, these are the offspring of those who have prospered during the last 15 years of unprecedented economic growth. They have become accustomed to an affluent lifestyle with frequent holidays, plenty of disposable income and a welter of opportunities. They are strangers to hard times.
It may be that they will be able to weather any economic downturn. Most will graduate from one of the State's seven universities with good higher-level degrees. Many will still find it relatively easy to gain good employment within the financial services sector or with big multinationals. They may not all be earning a six figure salary by age 30 but they have the skills and the flexibility to do well.
The irony is that the Class of 2008 will emerge from a university sector which is chronically underfunded. The heads of both University College Dublin and Trinity College wrote in this newspaper last month about the extent of the financial crisis facing them and how this was limiting Ireland's capacity to develop a "Knowledge Economy". Their article helped to open a fresh debate on university funding although a detailed response is awaited from Minister for Education Mary Hanafin.
With the return of fees (inexplicably) off the political agenda, it may be that some type of graduate tax could make sense. On the basis of today's survey, it is clear that graduates are a relatively well off group. Is it unreasonable to ask them to pay a small portion of their salary to help fund the third-level sector? An Australian-style graduate tax operates on the principle that the fairest way of raising additional income for higher education is from the beneficiaries of the system. Repayments are made through the tax system and are linked to the ability to pay. Is this the best way of addressing the funding crisis in Irish universities?