The Green Party has denied it has done a U-turn on the issue of third-level fees.
The party was responding to an accusation from Labour's Ruairi Quinn, following comments made by Green minister Eamon Ryan on RTÉ's The Week in Politics.
After a day of conflicting statements from the party, a spokesperson from the Greens tonight said that they were still opposed to the return of fees, but that they would look at the Minister for Education's proposals as outlined in a document for the Cabinet.
Mr Ryan yesterday indicated his support for the return of third-level fees that would involve a loan scheme to students.
Under the scheme, graduates would pay back a portion of their college fees once their income was above a set limit.
Eamon Ryan said any new scheme should remain free at the point of entry, and should not discourage students from attending college.
Batt O'Keeffe is expected to outline several options for third-level funding shortly.
