Sir, – In his letter opposing a third-level loan scheme, Thomas G Cotter (December 15th) omits a very significant factor, the pay of graduates compared to that of non-graduates.
For example, compare someone with the Leaving Cert getting a job paying €30,000 a year and a graduate securing a teaching post that may rise to €60,000 a year.
The difference over a working lifetime would be €1 million, plus a much higher pension.
A student loan over 15 years of €25 a week amounts to less than €20,000, a paltry sum compared to the benefit accrued from obtaining a university degree.
Of course if everyone had a third-level education it might level the playing field, but who would pay for it and who would then fill the lesser-paid positions? – Yours, etc,
PAT HUGHES,
Clonskeagh,
Dublin 14.