Tánaiste Simon Harris has said this year's budget can still be used to help students and their families, but that there will be no cost-of-living package in advance of Christmas.
In a message to Fine Gael TDs this evening in which he addressed third level fees, Mr Harris said he and Fine Gael signed up to the Programme for Government that commits to reducing fees on a permanent basis.
He said middle Ireland is still feeling the squeeze and the cost-of-living challenge is real for them.
It comes after Minister for Further and Higher Education Jams Lawless said yesterday that "as things stand", undergraduates would have to pay more compared to last year because last year’s reduction was a part of a cost of living package which included other supports.
Fees will have to be reset, as will energy, Mr Lawless said, and this means fees will revert to the same level they have been at for the last several years.
"All of us in any walk of life have to play the hands we're dealt," he added.
Ireland's student union body has described the decision to have student’s pay an extra €1,000 in fees this year as a "calculated betrayal".
Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éireann (AMLÉ) also said that the "U-turn" on fee reductions was "a clear breach of commitments" made in the Programme for Government.
AMLÉ President Bryan O'Mahony said the timing of the Government’s announcement was "disgraceful" and was intended to "dodge accountability" from outgoing and incoming student representatives.
"Despite long-standing promises - including a Programme for Government pledge to reduce the student contribution fee and Fine Gael’s manifesto commitment to phase it out - students now face increased financial burdens with no consultation and no warning," he said.
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Labour spokesperson for Further and Higher Education Laura Harmon described the move as "kite flying".
"It does put into question, why were there promises made in the Programme for Government just six months ago that the contribution fee would be reduced over the lifetime of this government, was that just a pre-election vote getting?" she said on RTÉ's Drivetime.
She said that the opposition is united in protesting the change.
"We need to support access to education in this country, we have a wonderful education system, and we need to ensure that people can access it,"
"I think we need to kick up an absolute storm about this."
Ms Harmon said that Mr Lawless had put himself in "a deeply unpopular position here."
"I think that he needs to come out, give clarity and rollback in relation to this because if the goal is to reduce it over the lifetime of this government, then starting with a €1,000 hike this year is a really bad start on that promise."
"We know that we have surpluses in this country, and I don't think that students and families should be first in the firing line."
The Social Democrats said that Ireland is now one of the most expensive countries in Europe to be a student in.
The party's further and higher education spokesperson Jen Cummins warned that the increase in fees "will make a college education more inaccessible".
The move comes as many are "already grappling with unprecedented cost-of-living pressures and an acute crisis in student accommodation".
She said that "the average rent for student accommodation in Dublin is now over €1,200 a month", which is three times the cost in Berlin.
But Mr Lawless insisted that he intends "to wind down the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the Government".
He added there are a number of measures that begin this September to help students with grants and an increased threshold for qualification.
"We have increased thresholds, and for the first time ever, a household income up to €115,000 would receive at least some form of support," Mr Lawless said yesterday.
"That's higher than it's ever been, and we also have a number of different ranges of support so you can get."
Watch: Lawless says student fees will revert to previous years
However, AMLÉ claimed the move will place Ireland among the most expensive countries in Europe for third-level education.
"This isn’t just about fees. It’s about how consistently students are deprioritised in this country. We deserve more than broken promises and last-minute betrayals," Mr O’Mahony said.
Sinn Féin called the Government’s decision as a "scandalous slap in the face".
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, the party’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said it would be a breaking point for many families.
"On one hand, they announce that they're going to end student contribution fees over the course of a government, something we welcome.
"And then on the other breath they say, we're going to start doing that by hiking up student fees by €1,000 on tens of thousands of families across the state. That makes absolutely no sense," he said.
Mr Doherty added: "This is very clearly a Government sending out the wrong signals to young people, to students. A signal basically to say that you're on your own, and we've abandoned you."
Mr Lawless said he has spoken to Minister for Housing James Browne to see how student specific accommodation can be carved out from newly-implemented Rent Pressure Zone rules.
"Although it is fairly straight forward to work out rules for student specific accommodation on campus, it is more difficult to quantify the situation for students living in private accommodation."
Fine Gael's Spokesperson on Further and Higher Education Maeve O'Connell said now is not the time to row back on fees.
She said the Government must continue to reduce the student contribution fee during its lifetime to ease the financial burden on young people and their families.
"Reducing the cost of education and helping hard-pressed families is important to Fine Gael and our party leader Tánaiste Simon Harris. Now is not the time to row back on commitments made by the party during the last election and by this Government," she said.
"We must build on the progress made in recent years and I will engage with the Tánaiste and relevant ministers to ensure the commitments in the Programme for Government - including the continued reduction in the student contribution fee - is delivered."
