Third level fees should be re-introduced.

national | education | opinion/analysis Saturday February 07, 2009 01:13 by Conor.M - S.E.E.D liberalconormurphy at ymail dot com

Third level fees should be re-introduced.

I was a member of FEE (free education for everyone) until very recently and I'm not against them, but I do disagree with them to a certain extent. It is certainly a tricky situation because the re-introduction of fees for the rich and not the poor, lies in trust. I dont 'trust' Fianna Fail but this is our government and you deserve the government you vote for. I strongly believe that fees should be introduced for the rich. When the students marched on wednesday the only people who were really happy were the wealthy.

More students from Dublin's disadvantaged areas are proceeding to third level, including myself, but their numbers remain relatively low according to the higher education authority (HEA). The study also finds that that the number of 17-19 year-olds in Dublin going on to third level is the second-lowest among the 26 counties. Only 45% of Dublin school-leavers proceed to college, compared to over 75% in Leitrim.

Awkward questions need to be asked and this is not happening! Isn't there something dysfunctional about a society where there are such vast extremes of poverty and wealth? And shouldn't this be the prime focus of the left-wing parties? The whole point of left-wing politics is to identify inequalities. But our political left, including Eamon Gilmore, speak in generalities about inequality but avoid how inequality is to be addressed comprehensively.

I believe our top statutory taxes (high earners) need to be dramatically hiked (considering we pay lower taxes than Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Austria & Slovenia) and it is no coincidence the top countries on that list have the lowest child poverty rate and some of the best standards of living in the world. With our unbelievable excess in wealth, why is our country so dysfunctional? It may have something to do with the fact the left is so fragmented, and it could have something to do with our political parties playing the, 'I'll have lower taxes than them' game.

My point is, Our taxes should be slightly increased in general, and the rich should have to pay back what they took from society, through high taxes and the re-introduction of fees for the rich third level students who will have no problem paying. This is not a comprehensive report but I do think people need the relevant information before a campaign is launched. The youth in Ireland need to be radicalized, and we need solid facts and a good argument.

THIS IS THE RATES OF ADMISSION BY POSTAL DISTRICT FOR DUBLIN'S 17-19 YEAR OLDS:
D14.............79%
D18.............73%
D6...............71%
D3...............61%
D16.............61%
D4, D15......49%
D9................47%
D5, D13......39%
D24.............36%
D12..............32%
D8................29%
D2, D7.........28%
D11..............27%
D1................20%
D22..............19%
D20..............16%
D17..............12%
D10..............10%

I hope this begins a REAL debate on the fee issue, we need to stand together and stop the government from walking all over us. The last thing we need to do is try to stop the government from finally taking money back from the wealthy in Ireland. Moreover, medical cards should NOT be available to all. Plenty of millionaires, and the wealthy in general should have to pay. (We also pay through taxes, the building of private hospitals and pay private doctors, where is the argument to change this?)

I am open to alternative suggestions but, as it stands, i firmly believe the solution to our problems lies in the organisation of the young and radical, as well as workers and students etc. We need to resist the government threatening nature and rise up to show our government we will not be used as scapegoats... this is the real issue. Fighting fees, in my opinion, is a waste of time.