MORE THAN 30 student leaders protested yesterday at the Department of Education in Dublin to highlight their opposition to fees.
At the protest in the grounds of the department offices on Marlborough Street, student leaders carried posters stating “Public funding not fees”, and chanted “they say cut back, we say fight back”.
The students, including NUIG student union president Muireann Dwyer, CIT vice-president for welfare Thomas Lynch and Union of Students in Ireland (USI) campaigns officer Dave Curran, had earlier run past security at the gate but were quickly moved from the grounds by gardaí.
USI president Shane Kelly said students were forced to take action after repeated requests to meet the Minister for Education were ignored. “Students aren’t going to be quiet over this issue until the Minister clarifies the situation – we won’t accept the reintroduction of fees,” he stated.
Mr Kelly said a reintroduction would be the most retrograde step in Irish third level education in 30 years, adding: “We will continue to mount protests in opposition, beginning with an overnight demonstration outside Dáil Éireann.”
Students will camp outside the Dáil tonight from 6pm in protest at what Mr Kelly termed Government waste. “They want to penalise students with fees because they have wasted tax payers’ money.”
A spokesman for the Minister said any policy move on student contributions would require Government support, and the Government has made it clear it would only apply to the upper end of the scale. “The Minister welcomes constructive and informed input from key stakeholders in the education sector in what is an important national conversation on future funding of the higher education sector,” he added.
Responding to claims that the Minister had ignored requests for a meeting, the spokesman said: “The USI’s request for a meeting with the Minister will be considered in the context of all other correspondence received by the Minister.”