FitzGerald wants return of fees for latter college years

Education:University fees could be reintroduced in the latter years of long college courses, according to former taoiseach Dr Garret FitzGerald.

A guest speaker at the Progressive Democrats conference, the former Fine Gael leader said at this stage, it would be difficult to reintroduce third-level fees "but you could consider payments at fourth or later years".

On courses such as medicine, it was from the "fourth or fifth year" that the extra earning power would come. "It seems odd that huge sums are paid by the less well-off to give students an opportunity to earn more than the people paying for them through their taxes."

He also said that the third-level maintenance grant system was being "abused enormously" by two main groups - the self-employed and farmers.

During a special debate organised by the Young Progressive Democrats, delegates backed a motion by the party's Wexford candidate Colm O'Gorman calling for the establishment of a university in the southeast and a motion for Waterford Institute of Technology to get university status.

Mr O'Gorman said the failure to provide a university had had a significant impact on economic development in the southeast. Co Wexford had the lowest level of university participation at 25 per cent.

Dr FitzGerald told delegates that Irish third-level colleges performed better than the rest of Europe at a third less of the cost because of "motivation".

Universities and colleges were under-resourced, under-funded and under-staffed, but in considering performance economists did not look at motivation, which accounted for Ireland's success.

He also warned against "making a god of business". He was all for business doing well but "students benefit most when they enjoy what they are studying". Parents put pressure on students to study particular courses against their own interests.