According to the CAG report, among universities UCD spent the lowest percentage (2.6 per cent) of its annual total expenditure on student services in 1995. Maynooth, by contrast, spent more than 10 per cent of its budget on student services.

The definition of student services is flexible; potentially, it can include anything from counselling to coffeemaking. In addition, as the tables show, it seems that in general the larger the college, the lower its spending percentage on student services; among universities, the actual amount spent on these services is strikingly similar from college to college. Nonetheless, the comparisons thrown up by these statistics make interesting reading.

This is especially true of the RTCs, where the variation among colleges is more dramatic.

For example, according to a survey conducted by USI late last year, none of the RTCs (average percentage of income spent on student services: 2.4 per cent) has a creche. In late 1996, subsequent to the year examined in the report, Education & Living conducted a survey of the health care and counselling services available in third-level colleges. Dundalk (1 per cent of total expenditure on student services) had no doctor on campus and no student counsellor. Similarly, Cork (0.7 per cent), Sligo (2.2 per cent), Tralee (2.2 per cent)and Letterkenny (4.2 per cent) were also without counsellors, though Letterkenny could at least point to a Department of Education investigation into the management of the college as an excuse.

According to the CAG, Cork, Limerick and Dundalk RTCs spent the lowest amount on student services, despite Cork and Limerick having among the highest total expenditures. Between them, those three colleges boasted one part-time counsellor, two full-time nurses and one part-time nurse and the equivalent of one full-time doctor on campus for a combined total student population of over 16,000.