LABOUR YOUTH CONDEMNS INCOME-CONTINGENT LOAN SCHEME PROPOSAL
Labour Youth has today criticised proposals to introduce an income contingent loan scheme, branding the €160 per month repayment rate “disgraceful.”
Commenting on the report, Chair of Labour Youth Kevin Donoghue commented: “Some people in the sector have become obsessed with introducing loan schemes and it doesn’t seem to matter how nonsensical, exclusionary or unworkable it is.”
“What is most frustrating is the fact that the standard model for funding higher education across Europe, i.e. public funding, is completely ignored by these people. Their ambition for higher education hinges almost exclusively on shouldering young people with tens of thousands of euro of debt and we are all supposed to be grateful for it.
“Earlier this year Labour Youth launched its higher education funding policy, ‘Education for the Next Generation’, calling for increased state investment and a significant contribution from employers into higher education. Businesses benefit significantly from a highly educated workforce and their contribution to higher education should reflect that. This model also takes account of acknowledging education as a public good, something which we have always stood over.
“The new generation has more than enough to be dealing with being faced with lower paid insecure jobs and great uncertainty when it comes to having a place to call home. We should not have to be lumped with extortionate bills on top of this for seeking an education which ultimately benefits the economy and society as a whole.”