The University Times Third Level in Ireland | Tuesday, November 15 2011
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responded by asking whether this would be done by raising the student contribution? Surely this would be entirely contrary to the party-line that emphasises removing barriers to education, not creating them? Quinn clarified by underlining this was a hypothesis separate from fee-paying, a hypothetical scheme that would simply decree ‘UCD and Trinity can only take in x numbers across the board’. Quinn didn’t elaborate on this idea,
but the suggestion is a worrying one. The minister later suggested that ‘the obvious pressure on the school, on the pupil, and on the parents of the pupil … is to get the points’ and that this was an aspect of the interaction between second and third level that needed to be addressed. But surely limiting the number of places available to students in universities would only drive CAO points up, increasing the pressure on leaving cert
students? I asked Quinn whether the original decision to implement a ‘free-fee’ system in 1996 was the right one and his response was a forceful yes. He stressed the importance of the ‘psychological barrier’ it removed, particularly for families who had traditionally ‘never thought their kids would go on to third-level’. Furthermore, he went on to stress that due to certain funding from the EU and the tax arrangements that
Photo: Holly Acton stood at that time, the decision made financial sense in the creation of a level playing field. So if we weren’t in the current economic climate, I wondered aloud, would the abolishment of free-fees be on the table? Quinn suggested that it wouldn’t be. He first pointed to the government target of achieving a 72% participation rate in third-level as being a clear objective, before going on to point out that this increase in participation
would have to come from socio-economic sections of society that have traditionally had lower participation rates. He highlighted the importance of ensuring that ‘that there would be no serious financial barrier that would prevent a student who is qualified and able to go to college, from going there because of money’. But in the same breath Quinn again underlined that ‘our thirdlevel system has a financing problem. We’re going to have to see how we can address the problem.’ Quinn went on to highlight that ‘universities are part of the problem’ in causing the academic inflation which, coupled with the financial crisis, sees the thirdlevel sector in such a fragile state. He points to the fact that ‘the number of courses that universities have offered has increased 300%’ and that many of these newer courses provide for very small numbers, driving points up. In effect, Quinn suggests that universities, in the provision of increasing numbers of courses are heaping pressure on both the students, in terms of leaving cert points, and themselves, in terms of financing. I asked the minister whether the protest march planned for November 16th will have any bearing on his final budgetary decision. His response was to first compliment USI on their ability to mobilize students and further to suggest that ‘they’re a more professional organisation than four or five years ago’. ‘Yes,’ he concluded, ‘you can’t ignore that kind of protest and you have to take it into account.’ One wonders to what extent. What is the minister’s response to Trinity’s provost, Patrick Prendergast, demanding more control over decision-making in Trinity affairs, particularly in making appointments and approving promotions? ‘We are not in normal times. The Provost is looking at it as if we were acting in normal economic times. We are not in control of our own cheque
book. The ECB has come in and said these are the terms and conditions on which we will lend you money and one of those terms and conditions is control of numbers in the public service. If we had refused to take the terms and conditions, the ECB would have said well, we’re turning off the tap: Which would mean myself, and anyone else on a public service payroll, when we stick a bit of plastic into the wall, nothing would come out. That’s it. And that’s Greece’s dilemma at the moment.’ So these terms and conditions are affecting appointments and promotions in Irish universities? ‘They are affecting everything. People have to adjust, this just isn’t a once-off hit, this is a permanent hit … until such time as we get our finances back in order. That’s why, in a way, all bets are off from where we were previously. This is the first time we’ve lost our economic sovereignty since 1922. Michael Collins, the first Minister for Finance, had more room for manoeuvre than Michael Noonan has today. And it’ll be like that until 2015.’ I left Ruairi Quinn’s office feeling depressed. The square outside suddenly seemed more bleak than tranquil. As a long-serving member of the Labour party, it would be far-fetched to suggest Quinn actually wants to exclude students from third-level. But he and his colleagues in the cabinet, those making these crucial decisions, have their hands tied by obligations to a debt of a gravity this nation has never seen before. There is a real possibility that measures will be passed that lead to the exclusion of some from the third-level system. Ireland’s students, led by USI, are extremely fearful of what the budget will bring and, on this evidence, they should be. ‘People have to adjust,’ asserted Quinn. Based on his decisions, by Christmas, we’ll know just how much adjusting we have to do.