Employers and apprentices have expressed dismay at a move by the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey, to raise €5 million a year by making apprentices pay student registration fees.
From next January, 24,000 apprentices will be liable for the charge of €237 per term, or €134 per short course. This is one-third of the full-time third-level registration fee of €670,
"Employers will not pay the charges and the apprentices will not pay. We are facing another winter of discontent," said Mr Éamon Devoy, assistant general secretary of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union, which has instructed apprentices not to pay the fee.
"This is yet another form of indirect taxation. And it was done by diktat without consultation with the social partners."
Mr Brendan McGinty, director of human resources with IBEC, said there was no liability on the employer to pay the fees. "Our concern would be that this kind of fee would act as a disincentive for young people to proceed with apprenticeships, at a time when we are trying to encourage apprenticeship and a greater gender balance."
Mr Eric Fleming, construction branch secretary of SIPTU, said: "This is punitive. It's incentives we want to attract young people into the construction industry, not disincentives."
The fees could raise up to €5.6 million annually for the institutes of technology, which have welcomed the Minister's decision. The ITs argue it is unfair for full-time students to pay for sports, medical and other facilities, while apprentices get them for free.
This was dismissed by unions: "Apprentices look at going to the IT as a day in work. They go to the course and then go home. They don't engage with student services," Mr Devoy insisted.
Apprentices earn €5 an hour during their first year, which is below the minimum wage. Mr Brendan O'Sullivan, of Bricklayers' and Allied Trade Unions, said the fee would discourage apprentices from going to college.