Protest told students may be forced to drop out if college fees return to €3,000
Students gathered outside Leinster House on Tuesday evening to protest against suggestions from Higher Education Minister James Lawless that the €1,000 reduction in college fees will not be repeated.
The Government has insisted that it will honour its commitment to reduce fees but has ruled out reintroducing the cost of living package that saw the fees drop to €2,000 in recent years.
The protest was organised by Labour Senator and former Union of Students in Ireland (USI) President Laura Harmon and addressed by members of the opposition.
Alex Angland, President of the UCC Student Union, said that 'as the cost of living continues to increase, students are being pushed towards a breaking point'.
He added: 'Education is a right, not a privilege. Yet the government continues to place undue financial burden on students and on their families.
'More and more students are forced to take on unsustainable debt, to work excessive hours, and in some cases, to abandon their dreams of third-level education due to financial hardship.'
Matt Mion, Education Officer at UCD Students' Union, told the crowd that he had brought a copy of page 72 of the programme for government, which stated the Government would 'continue to reduce the student contribution fee over time'.
He also read from the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil manifestos and the promises that were made during the election regarding fees,
He said: 'What are they doing now? They're reversing.
'I have it here. I have the paper it's written on and it's not worth sh*t.'
Maeve Farrell, President of Maynooth Student Union, said any decision to return student fees to €3,000 would be a 'disgraceful and unjustifiable decision'.
She added: 'Myself and my fellow officers in Maynooth Students Union have been contacted by students who are devastated and terrified that this will mean the end of their studies.'
Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty accused the Government of 'weasel words' and said they had made a promise to cut student fees in the Programme for Government.
He said: 'The question I have to the Government is, what have the students of Ireland done on you?
'Just last month, you unleashed your Minister for Housing, which has unleashed the landlords and allowed them to jack up rent for students to whatever level they want.
'Now we have the Minister for Higher Education jacking up student fees by another €1,000 at a time when rents are up, prices are up and now they want to put student fees up.
'Enough is enough. Now is the time to fight back.'
In the Dáil, Taoiseach Micheal Martin defended the Government's stance on student fees, saying there are 'lots of instruments' to help students make college more affordable.
Mr Martin said: 'This time last year was exactly the same position because the previous year had not provided estimates for the reduction of €1,000 that happened last year.
'It was exactly the same position and actually Sinn Fein had a motion down this time last year as well doing the exact same thing.
'There is an estimates process and there will be a budget. We will look at the full range of supports, including fees.
'We will look at student supports and stronger supports for students with disabilities.
'We will look for stronger supports for children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and we will look at progression into third level from different areas, and into postgraduate and research.
'There is a significant menu, and lots of instruments with which we can help students, particularly those on middle and lower incomes to make college more affordable.
'It is across the full gamut of instruments we have or provisions we can make in the budget.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
15 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Senator shows Seanad picture of her seven-week scan as ‘only evidence' pregnancy existed
Holding up a picture of her seven-week scan in Seanad Éireann, Sinn Féin Senator Nicole Ryan said it was the 'only evidence' that her ' pregnancy ever existed'. The scan was taken after she began bleeding and she was relieved there was a heartbeat at the time, she said. However, two days before her 12-week scan she 'knew something was wrong' when she found her sheets covered in blood. She learned later in hospital that she had had a miscarriage. Ms Ryan was among a number of senators who spoke in the Seanad on Wednesday about their experience of miscarriage. They shared their experiences as part of a debate on Sinn Féin's proposal to introduce paid leave for pregnancy loss. READ MORE The Bill would entitle women to at least five days of paid leave and their partner to 2½ days. The proposed legislation would also lead to the establishment of a confidential opt-in register of pregnancy loss. [ Woman who suffered six miscarriages says employers' response ranged from empathy to pressure to return to work Opens in new window ] There was Opposition criticism of the Government's move to defer the Bill by a year while it develops similar legislative proposals of its own. Ms Ryan argued that to 'delay this Bill is to traumatise even more women'. She said the proposed pregnancy loss register is 'incredibly important' as the State does not recognise losses of pregnancies under 23 weeks' gestation. She said 'pregnancy loss is one of the most common forms of bereavement and yet one of the least recognised in both society and law'. Fine Gael Senator Linda Nelson Murray praised Ms Ryan for bringing the proposals, saying: 'As someone who has suffered miscarriages myself, including my eldest daughter's twin, I know what that ache is like for thousands of women across Ireland.' She said pregnancy loss is often treated as 'something that is silently endured'. However, she supported the Government's argument that Sinn Féin's plan to amend a working time law was not the best way to bring in the new leave entitlements. Amending family leave provisions or introducing standalone legislation 'would form a more suitable legal basis', she said. Labour Senator Nessa Cosgrove also commended Ms Ryan on the Bill, saying she too has suffered a miscarriage. Sinn Féin Senator Joanne Collins said she suffered a miscarriage when she was in a job that did not give her the option to leave her post. 'I miscarried while I worked, because there was no other option,' she said, adding that there was 'no system, no cover'. Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said his officials believe there are 'significant policy challenges' to the operation of the Bill as drafted. The Seanad passed his motion that gives the Government 12 months to develop legislative proposals in line with the principles of the Sinn Féin Bill. 'I fully recognise the need to introduce leave for those who experience pregnancy loss,' he said.
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Government's appeal of fine over Public Services Card a 'waste of taxpayer's money', says expert
A data protection expert has claimed the Government's decision to take legal action against the Data Protection Commission over the Public Services Card will equate to a 'long drawn-out waste of taxpayer's money'. Daragh O'Brien, a data strategist and managing director of data protection consultancy Castlebridge, said the Government's challenge to the recent adverse decision by the commission regarding the public service card will in all likelihood end up before the Court of Justice of the EU, a process that will likely take several years and incur hundreds of thousands of euros in legal fees. Last month's decision by the DPC related to a four-year-long investigation into the alleged biometric nature of the PSC – the welfare benefits card used daily by millions of Irish citizens which can also be utilised to access separate State services. In addition to hitting the Department of Social Protection with a record €550,000 fine, the DPC ordered the department to cease processing biometric data — capturing the physical or behavioral characteristics of a person — with the card within nine months unless it could establish a valid legal basis for its doing so. Most experts had presumed the only way for the department to successfully comply with that order would be to pass legislation grounding the card's biometric nature within the law. Instead, the department on Monday lodged legal papers in the High Court objecting to the DPC's decision. 'It would seem that rather than take the time generously allowed by the DPC to cure the issues identified in their unpublished decision that gave rise to the fine and enforcement notice, the department has opted to fight,' Mr O'Brien said of the new legal action. It is not the first time the department has taken the legal route with the DPC in light of an adverse decision regarding the card. In 2019, the department appealed a previous decision by the commission ruling that the card could not be made mandatory for accessing public services, leading to a prolonged battle in the courts. 'I predict a long, drawn-out waste of taxpayer's money on a battle that will wind up in the CJEU with another loss for the State,' Mr O'Brien said. A spokesperson for the department said that the decision to appeal had been taken on consultation with the Attorney General. 'The department believes that its processing of biometric data is compliant with data protection law,' they said. Read More
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Super-juniors treated ‘identically' to senior Ministers, ex-cabinet member Shane Ross tells High Court
Super-junior Ministers are treated 'identically' to senior Ministers at Government meetings and can influence decision-making, former cabinet member Shane Ross has told the High Court. Mr Ross, who served as minister for transport, tourism and sport from 2016 to 2020, on Wednesday gave evidence at the hearing of People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy 's High Court action challenging the attendance of super-junior Ministers at Cabinet meetings. Cross-examinating Mr Ross, Attorney General Rossa Fanning suggested Mr Ross breached a constitutional obligation to respect cabinet confidentiality by publishing a book with accounts of discussions at cabinet meetings. Mr Ross denied any illegality, and said the book pertained to political matters of public interest. 'I thought it was justifiable, there was plenty of precedent for it,' he said. READ MORE Mr Murphy's case alleges super-junior Ministers' presence at Cabinet breaches this Cabinet confidentiality provision and several other sections of the Constitution. [ Government accepts 'super junior' Ministers are involved in decision-making at Cabinet with no constitutional basis, court hears Opens in new window ] Mr Murphy wants an injunction restraining super-juniors from going to Government meetings. 'Ministers of State attending Cabinet', or super-junior Ministers, are appointed by the Government on the nomination of the Taoiseach. They participate at Government meetings but do not vote. Senior government ministers are appointed by the president of Ireland on the advice of the taoiseach and with the prior approval of Dáil Éireann . Mr Fanning is leading the State's defence. The hearing of Mr Murphy's case immediately followed the conclusion of submissions in a similar case brought by Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly . Mr Ross told the court super-junior ministers were treated 'identically' to senior ministers in the context of cabinet meetings during his tenure in government. Giving evidence, he agreed they were never 'curtailed' from participating by virtue of their 'nominally lower status'. On one occasion, Finian McGrath, a super-junior minister between 2016 and 2020, 'changed the government's mind' on a specific cabinet decision after threatening to resign, Mr Ross said. Put to him by Mr Fanning that there is a difference between having political influence and being a member of government, and that many people can exercise political influence, Mr Ross said being present at cabinet is 'not just a matter of political influence'. Super-juniors' presence at meetings gives them a 'special influence' over legislation, Mr Ross said. 'I saw it; they have a much greater influence than other ministers of state.' Taking to the witness box, Mr Murphy said super-junior Ministers are acting as de facto members of Government but are not accountable to or approved by the Dáil. Similar to Mr Daly's case, Mr Murphy's case points to article 28 of the Constitution, which limits the number of Government members to 15, including the Taoiseach, and provides that they meet and act as a collective authority. Mr Murphy's senior counsel, John Rogers, said there is 'no law whatsoever to say that a minister of state is permitted to be in the government'. He said the Taoiseach and the Government have 'usurped a power they don't have' to bring strangers – in a constitutional sense – into the Government room. Mr Rogers submitted that a 'democratic principle' underpins the process by which deputies are nominated to Government by the Taoiseach and approved by the Dáil. Counsel submitted that super-juniors attend participate in Government deliberations and decisions without any process of approval in the Dáil – unlike the 15 members of Government. The case, sitting before three High Court judges, continues.
