True Colours, once revealed, are not always nice…..

Well Batt O’Keefe has shown his true colours. Despite stating for months that any tuition fees would only affect those that could afford it, the Minister is considering allowing those that can afford to pay for the degree would get a 20% discount on the total cost.

So now, it would appear, that the rich will have to pay, along with those that can’t afford to pay it, the difference being the rich will get a cheaper degree. It is truly disgraceful. Such short sightedness will not yield the €70 million expected by the Dept of Education, this is a truly shocking claim. €350 million is what the government currently pay in lieu of tuition fees, so to imagine that the government would re-coup €70 million, or one fifth of what they currently spend is wrong and only serves to strengthen a weak argument that fees will bring money into the exchequer. Whoever the sources are that think this measure will bring in this amount should be named and shamed.

So Batt stays true to FF mantra. It was always unlikely that the Minister of Education would stay true to his word and only insist on the rich paying for education. The Irish Times are carrying the article today and contains inaccurate information, that if came from the Department of Education should be setting off alarm bells.

“The new regime is set to be introduced next year. However most students will not become liable to repay the cost of their tuition until at least 2013, three years after they graduate. The Government has still to decide on the level at which fees will be set.” http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0325/1224243368792.html

Now the maths do not add up here, the Minister has indicated that current students would not be liable to any change in the fee situation. So it would appear the class of 2013 will be the first to start repaying any type of graduate tax. Given that the article also notes that students will become liable for fees after graduation once their income reaches a certain level, you would wonder what the income level will actually be, and how low it will be if 2013 is the date in which the repayment is expected.

Batt was quoted yesterday as saying “A key consideration from my perspective will be that any scheme implemented does not place an unfair burden on students or their families or act as a disincentive to participation in higher education by those from less well-off backgrounds.”

It is getting much harder to believe the sentiment from this minister. Parents in particular should be worried about what this minister is planning, and parents should be planning for an uncertain future whereby their children may not get the opportunity to attend third level.