On 4 June, at this very time, students will be one hour into the leaving certificate English examination. They will be marked for clarity and conciseness in their replies. Between now and then, uncertainty is hanging over those 50,000 students and their parents regarding a Government proposal to reintroduce third level fees. They do not know if they will have to pay fees to go to university.

I ask the Taoiseach again today to remove the uncertainty that hangs over those students and their parents, in advance of the report from the Minister for Education and Science, by stating that third level fees will not be introduced in the forthcoming academic year, irrespective of the discussions at Cabinet or the contents of the Minister's report. I do not want the reply the Taoiseach gave yesterday but a straight answer. Will he state that the Government does not intend to introduce third level fees for the academic year starting this autumn?

With absolute clarity, I hope we can have this matter dealt with and cleared at Cabinet before the leaving certificate examination starts in two weeks' time.

No grade, Taoiseach.

With equal clarity I remind the Taoiseach that the Tánaiste said this would have been better discussed internally before the public discussion. The Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy O'Malley, said he is completely opposed to this, as did the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The Government Chief Whip, herself an esteemed member of the teaching profession, said we need clarity on this now. With this proposal the Taoiseach has created uncertainty for thousands of students and their parents. The proposal is doomed to failure. Will he abandon ship, forget the proposal and tell the people his Government has no intention of introducing third level fees? The Tánaiste said the property tax of 1980 caused more fear than the tax it collected and that we must not do that again. Will the Taoiseach show leadership of his Government and tell the nation that third level fees will not be reintroduced?

At risk of repeating myself, as I have said on numerous occasions we spend €380 million on student supports at third level, which is a sizeable amount. The free third level fees scheme cost €240 million last year and will cost more this year. The Minister for Education and Science, as part of his expenditure review, is looking at how best to use his resources and at how best to improve access to third level education. He has been looking at a number of issues in an education review for the last few months and in the figures already available from that review, 97% of children from the higher managerial groups receive a third level education. The figure for the lower socio-economic group is 21%, while in many disadvantaged communities the figure is as low as 5%. The Minister has been looking at what he can do in the future to deal with access and his review is almost complete. In the normal course of events the Cabinet will make a decision and that will be conveyed to everyone. Hopefully, that will be done before the leaving certificate starts.

The Taoiseach is on auto-pilot.

Is that yes or no?

Translate it.

Perhaps some of the Deputies opposite should go back to school.

The Minister would want to go back.

Six of the best for the Minister.

According to reports the Government is contemplating the reintroduction of fees at a very high threshold. It is clear the amount of money saved is derisory, with the most recent figures from the Revenue Commissioners suggesting only 3% of income earners admit to an income of over €100,000. If the argument being made relates to equity, then why, during the five years of the boom, did the last Government not improve the Breaking the Cycle programme or the Early Start initiative? Why, in the immediate wake of the general election, did it restrict budgetary funding for the access programmes for school retention? Why was nothing done to improve the chances for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to get into education? It is derisory to suggest that the purpose is to tackle inequity in education.

My understanding is that the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, will put forward a loan scheme in his memorandum. This is a smokescreen. He will bring in a loan scheme which will have the sup port of the Progressive Democrats who have taken to absenting themselves from the House. That loan scheme will put people on moderate incomes in hock. There will be a brain drain as a result of it and what happened in Australia will happen here where young, skilled and educated people, which our economy needs, will emigrate. That is what is wrong with a loan scheme which is being contemplated by the Government, which has the support of the Progressive Democrats and which will save the Minister's neck. It is a disgrace because it will impose significant hardship on ordinary people.

I reiterate that no decision has been taken to reintroduce fees for third level education. A review on access is taking place to see what we can do to try to improve the opportunities for people in working class areas – people who have not had an opportunity to participate in third level education since the foundation of this State. As I said, participation by the upper echelons of society is 97%, while in the lower echelons of society, it is 5%. Over the last few years we have been endeavouring to try to change that. We have been working through first and second level education.

The numbers are dropping.

Overall funding is up 94% in the last five years. We were spending €2.9 billion on education but we are now spending €5.6 billion. Many of these young people have now come through good first and second level education. They want an opportunity to get further education and it is right that we should look at these issues.

We have considerably increased the amount of money for the capital programme – by 50% for capitation funding and 94% for capitation funding for post-primary schools. Right across the board, this Government has put considerable resources into education. There is still a difficulty in one area, namely, access for people from lower groups to third level education. It is right, and it would be totally irresponsible of the Government, not to look at this issue to see whether it is possible to find an easy solution. The Australian example may not be right. I remind Deputy Rabbitte – obviously, he does not know – that Australia has the strongest economy in the world, growing at a considerably faster pace than those of Japan, the United States or elsewhere.

It has graduate emigration.

Its education system is considered to be good, as is ours. To try to use that argument does not hold up.

We have also moved from a position where there were only 40,000 people in third level education to a position where there are 120,000. For the first time people who get the necessary points do not have to go to an English university. One of the dilemmas only a few years ago was that people did not have the opportunity to go to third level in this country. We have addressed that issue and it is now resolved. There is more than an adequate number of places in our third level colleges. We now have about 27 third level colleges of one form or another. There is one issue left at which to look. These are the facts. Whatever about the resolution, Government must look at this issue. Yesterday, I heard people say that only a few people earned over €100,000. At least Deputy Rabbitte has looked at that overnight. About 50,000 people earn over €100,000.

With children in third level?

There is a sizeable number who earn over €200,000 and they pay nothing for their education system. I do not think that is right. This issue is being examined. We will come to a conclusion after the review. We will make a decision, as we always do. Let nobody say try to say that this Government has not resourced education.

This Government has not resourced education properly.

Some €2.9 billion was spent on education a few years ago but now €5.6 billion is being spent.

Does the Taoiseach not know that we have the second lowest spend in Europe, as a percentage of GDP, on education and that only Greece spends less? He said 50,000 people earn over €100,000. Indeed, 56,000 people admit to incomes of over €100,000 and not all of them, by any means, have students likely to go into or in third level education. In so far as we have figures, we have the Clancy report for 1992-98 which covers only two years of the free fees. It shows that for the lowest socio-economic categories, there was almost a doubling of participation rates from 12% to 22%. It will take a generation to know the impact of the removal of fees.

I wish to ask the Taoiseach about timing. Why choose the time when 50,000 young people are about to sit their leaving certificate to create this anxiety and concern?

Let the disadvantaged wait for a generation.

Allow Deputy Rabbitte to conclude without interruption.

If the Minister would stop heckling me, I might be able to again ask the Taoiseach a straightforward question. Is it true that the Minister's memorandum to Cabinet will include provision for a loan scheme which will bring the Progressive Democrats and Fianna Fáil on board, which will be punitive and the cause of hardship for most working families, which will drive our skilled labour to Britain and the United States and which will cause our skilled people to emigrate again?

I ask the Deputy to conclude. He has gone well over time.

Has the Deputy no principles at all?

The Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, posing as a socialist is a bit much. He will be on the labour soon, the way he is going.

The Deputy's socialist rhetoric is exposed. He is abandoning the poor.

Let the disadvantaged wait for a generation.

I ask Deputy Rabbitte to allow the Taoiseach to answer his questions.

As I stated at the outset, there has been no decision to reintroduce fees for third level education. What is awaited by people outside this House, who will take an interest in these matters, is a review to see if we can do anything to improve access for people who do not have opportunities. There are 19,000 additional students in full-time third level education while part-time enrolments are up 41%. Our young people are not emigrating. I do not know what period Deputy Rabbitte is talking about but I remember when over 50,000 people per year emigrated, when the advertisement was that we had the best and the brightest, although they were all on their way to the airport, and when people in third level education had no opportunities in this country. People are now working here – there are 600,000 more people at work – and people have an education.

Why change the system?

Whatever the final decision, I will not be lectured by people who say we do not care about the disadvantaged. When last in Government, the parties opposite spent a lousy €0.5 million on disadvantaged education but we are now spending €26 million. We have put money into third level education. Those opposite should be honest, as we will be. Those opposite only care about the people who are wealthy and those who are already in third level education. If one is disadvantaged, living on the margins and on welfare, the Labour Party and Fine Gael do not care two hells about one. Those opposite should just be honest.

Who is talking about honesty?