Students chained themselves to the railings of two Government Departments and the Fianna Fáil headquarters in Dublin yesterday in protest at the recent increase in third-level registration fees.
The members of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) chained themselves for several hours to the railings of the Departments of Education and Finance. USI wants an immediate meeting with the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, about the increases. It also warned Mr Dempsey that protests would escalate in the coming weeks unless he was willing to meet the union.
Students from colleges in the southern area bombarded the Department of Education with e-mails and faxes for the duration of the protest.
Mr Colm Jordan, president of the USI, said: "The Government has chained students to poverty with its actions in recent months, and today's actions are a symbol of this. Without as much as a whisper of warning, college registration fees were raised by €274, adding another link to the chain of disadvantage that prevents thousands from realising their academic promise."
He said Mr Dempsey had yet to acknowledge the USI's request for an urgent meeting on the issue almost a month after it was first requested. "We warned him earlier in the month that he would be unwise to think that this anger will simply evaporate while he was on holidays. In fact, students will be making out budget projections for the year at this moment in time."
Trinity College Dublin Students' Union also said Mr Dempsey should meet student representatives. It said students in Trinity were greatly dismayed by the increase in the registration charge.