Sir, - I am delighted to read of the announcement by Mr Micheal Martin of 14,000 extra places at third level. I trust some of these places will be created in the independent third-level sector.Students following State-validated certificate and degree courses in this sector are currently being discriminated against through their exclusion from the free fees scheme and the HEA grants.Were this discrimination to end, Portobello College and other smaller independent colleges could create significant numbers of extra third-level places on State-validated programmes. With all capital costs being borne by the colleges themselves, they could do so at a far lower cost to the Department than if the places were created in the State sector. - Yours, etc., Guy Flouch,Director of CommunicationsPortobello College,South Richmond Street,Dublin 2.