By Cillian Doyle.
The Union of Students Ireland is calling for more state support for the country's third-level institutions.
A plan is set to be announced over the summer to deal with a massive funding gap that was revealed in the 2016 Cassells Report.
It predicts colleges will need an additional 1 billion euro in support by 2030.
Students pay €3,000 each year towards the cost of their qualification.
USI President Wexford native Lorna Fitzpatrick wants that scrapped as part of the overhaul of the funding structure:
"We are calling for that cost - that €3,000 - that barrier to be abolished as part of the new funding model that's due to be announced by Minister Harris over this Summer period"
"We believe the system should be publicly-funded and not student-funded when it comes to being able to provide a high-quality third-level education"
