Lawless accused of shirking college fee responsibility in 'rant' to Sinn Fein

Irish Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Higher Education Minister James Lawless has been told to 'take responsibility for his own actions' after a letter to Sinn Féin criticising its policies on student fees.
Arguments over third-level fees dominated political discourse this week following Minister Lawless' interview on RTÉ in which he suggested that 'as things stand', college fees will revert to €3,000 a year from September.
In recent years, fees have been discounted by € 1,000 as part of the Government's cost-of-living packages.
However, the coalition has insisted that there will be no such package in Budget 2026.
This has led to arguments between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, with a succession of Fine Gael politicians calling for clarity on student fees.
Tánaiste Simon Harris insisted during the week that the Programme for Government committed to reducing and ultimately abolishing third-level fees.
The opposition has also grasped upon the controversy, with Leaders' Questions dominated all week by questions on how much the student fees will be in September.
On Friday, Minister Lawless wrote to Sinn Féin's spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Donna McGettigan, to criticise the party's response to the controversy.
In the letter, seen by the Irish Mirror, he called for Sinn Féin to 'publish their full budget strategy in the interests of transparency and to avoid generating uncertainty for parents and students'.
He wrote: 'I note your comments that 'As a first step toward abolishing student fees, we are demanding a cost-of-living package in September that will reduce student fees by €1500.'
'This is an uncosted, on the hoof empty promise during dangerous and uncertain economic times. Parents and students need certainty and predictability.
'On the fly policy announcements do the exact opposite.
'In contrast the government is committed to reducing the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the government in a financially sustainable manner. This means as part of the budgetary process not in pursuit of headlines.'
Mr Lawless questioned Ms McGettigan on whether the party's position has been costed by the 'Parliamentary Budget Office', suggesting that Sinn Féin has 'a poor track record on this issue', suggesting that 'Sinn Féin chronically underfunded any student fees reductions' in its alternative budget by allocating '€66m to a measure that costs up to double that amount'.
He added: 'In a time of global uncertainty, this Swiss cheese budget approach is potentially disastrous.'
Minister Lawless stated that he is 'working closely with my government colleagues as part of that process to fund our shared commitment' of reducing and abolishing the contribution fee.
He argued that this would be done in the Budget, calling on Sinn Féin to outline how it would 'finance a cost of living package' as 'the public deserve better than cheap headlines and uncosted commitments.'
Ms McGettigan stated that Minister Lawless needed to take 'responsibility for the mess he created this week and tell students if their fees are going up €1000 or not'.
She continued: 'That would be a better use of his time than sending me a rant in a lengthy letter on a Friday night asking me to do his job for him.
'In the letter, he says that 'parents and students need certainty and predictability'.
'However, his letter does not provide either certainty or predictability. In fact he once again ignores the question everyone has been asking him for six days now.
'Instead, he accuses Sinn Féin of causing uncertainty and asks us to provide clarity. What an absolute cheek from a tone deaf minister.
'It is time that the Minister took responsibility for his own actions, instead of scrambling around blaming everyone else for the mess that he has created.'