Would you have a third-level degree if it wasn't fee-free?

free fees pull down graduate quality. let see a lot of foreign students. they pay their fees. they work very hard to get the best result.

The reintroduction of fees would be a good thing. This would not stop students who could not afford college from getting a degree because they would still get the goverment grant which covers fees and living costs. However, there are many students in third level who come from wealthy homes whereby their parents can well afford to pay for their childrens education. With the present system, universities are suffering due to lack of funds. Education is everything, but it is not going to run on hot air, universities need fees to keep them running.

I answered yes, however this is because my parents saved up for my 3rd level education from my birth. If Minister O'Keefe brings back fees he should give the same lead time to allow people to prepare. Bringing in fees with a notice of less than 10 years will deprive people of the ability to go to University and contribute to our much fabled 'knowledge economy'. Plenty of people on the top rate of tax are struggling with mortgages and the host of stealth taxes for the 'better off' already. This smacks of a quick fix mentality, and is not the way to prepare the country to compete in the international economy.

"Free fees pull down graduate quality" - where does "college student" get this information from? There is no evidence to suggest that the introduction of free fees has reduced the quality of graduates, and it is considered that the quality of IRish graduates is high when compared with other countries in the OECD. In fact, the main benefit of the free fees is that it has increased participation in third level education by disadvantaged groups, and has made the attainment of a degree possible for those who could not have afforded it - and removed the elitism previously associated with universities and other colleges. This has meant that Ireland has more citizens with third level education, making Ireland a better educated and more economically valuable country, as well as a more equitable one. The question is really whether the people who benefit MOST from fee fees are those who could not have afforded it, or those who could afford to pay anyway. A graduate tax on those who qualify with degrees may be more appropriate in this context - that way once you graduate and find employment, you re-pay the fees that were paid for you by the state based on your income. It could also be argued that (at a huge cost to the exchequer) free fees should be extended to part-time students. This would promote greater equity of access to higher education. No arguments about foreign students, but should we not have an aim to educate our own population to the highest possible/reasonable levels before turning our third level education into an "international" student market only?