USI to Bertie: Wish you were here

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI)will today hand in postcards signed by 15,000 students from USI-affiliated colleges to the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. The postcard campaign is one part of a campaign to get three core proposals implemented - on housing, grants, and college fees.

USI say that if (as seems likely) they have not received a satisfactory response from the Government by tomorrow, the union will ballot its members and take "appropriate action".

The union is demanding that £20 million a year for the next three years should be invested in purpose-built student housing; that all capitation fees for colleges should be abolished; and that maintenance grants should be brought into line with social-welfare payments. The last two measures are estimated to carry a cost of £14 million per year each.

The union wants the housing projects to begin immediately, grants to be increased by the second term of this academic year and fees abolished from next year.

The Government seems set to disappoint USI. A Department of Education spokesman said the accommodation crisis was a national matter, that capitation charges were up to individual colleges and that, anyway, around 50 per cent of students did not have to pay them. He described the demand to raise grants to social-welfare levels as "ridiculous", as those on social welfare were unemployed and many were bringing up families.

Which leaves USI balloting its members and taking action. Student protests are not what they used to be and recent demonstrations have been poorly attended, with the crowd estimates often lucky to break into figures. Nevertheless, USI's deputy president Julian de Spainn is bullish. "On the 27th there will be a demonstration and march to kick off a rolling action campaign," he said. This will incorporate walkouts and lobbying - whatever needs to be done to keep the pressure up.

But will students turn up and take part? "last year we had about 1,500 people but the way colleges are going this year we would be hoping for around 5,000," de Spainn said. "What we are looking for at the end of the day are basic needs."

In a related development, the leaderships of USI and SIPTU have agreed proposals on the joint provision of services to their members. As well as both presidents addressing the other's conference (USI's Philip Madden was the first to do this last week), the agreement would mean that USI members with part-time jobs could receive SIPTU representation by virtue of USI membership. Paul Tanney