A discussion document setting out five options on third-level fees has been circulated by Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe among the Cabinet.
While the return of a basic fees model is one of the options in the document, Mr O’Keeffe has already signalled his preference for a new student loan scheme.
However, a Department of Education spokesman said today the Minister was keen to seek the views of his Cabinet colleagues prior to making a decision.
The spokesman confirmed the confidential document had been circulated to ministers but said it would not on the Cabinet agenda or discussed at the Cabinet table for the time being.
“The report will be considered by Cabinet members over the coming weeks as the Minister wants their observations before he makes a formal recommendation to them later in the year,” he said.
The return of a basic fees model had been floated by Mr O’Keeffe last year but is understood to be strongly opposed by the Green Party ministers.
Under the student loan system, students take out a loan which would be repayable once they reach a certain income threshold following graduation.
If approved by Cabinet, the loan scheme is likely to be introduced in September 2010.
The scheme may initially increase financial pressure on the third-level sector in the Republic as it will be three to four years at the earliest before a new income stream is available to colleges.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) today said it will stage a protest tomorrow outside the Dáil in response to the reintroduction of college fees.
In a statement today, USI president Peter Mannion said: that introducing a deferred loan system "or a "Fianna Fáil legacy graduate tax" is "devoid of foresight and will only bankrupt the entire education sector".
"By examining similar systems in Australia and New Zealand, we see that deferred loans for students and graduate taxes inevitably lead to economic disaster," he said. "In these countries, student loans, taxes and fees have made third level education virtually inaccessible to rural, working class and mature students."