THE
The official publication of Maynooth Students’ Union
Tuesday 29th November 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 5
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20,000 March Against Increases To Third Level Contribution Charges Protesters also condemn rumoured cuts to third level grant schemes KEITH BRONI Editor In Chief
On Wednesday the 16th of November, roughly 20,000 students from across Ireland marched from Parnell Square in Dublin City Centre to the front of Dáil Éireann to protest against any increases to the current third level Student Contribution Charge (formally the Registration Fee) and further cuts to the maintenance grant. The march lasted approximately two hours, beginning shortly before 2.30pm and dissolving at roughly 4.30pm following a rally on Merrion Street. Almost 200 buses were utilised to carry students from various campuses nationwide to and from the event. A sleepout protest also took place after the march on Molesworth Street. The demonstration, entitled ‘Stop Fees, Save The Grant’, was organised by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), akin to last year’s ‘Education Not Emigration’ campaign. However, unlike last year’s protest, this march passed off peacefully without any violent clashes between protesters and the Gardaí. There were, however, some attempts to deviate from the main protest by Free Education for Everybody (FEE), who were marching alongside the USI. These included a sit-down protest outside of the main entrance to Trinity College, an attempt to occupy the Fine Gael Headquarters on Upper Mount Street and another attempted occupation of a teaching venue on the Trinity campus (Room 3074). Yet these efforts were short-lived. Speaking at the rally following the march, the President of the USI, Gary Redmond, called on the Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn to keep his pre-election promise to the students of Ireland. On Monday February 21st, four days before the public voted within a General Election, Quinn, then the Labour Party’s spokesperson for Education, publicly signed a USI pledge at the gates of Trinity College which stated that if elected the Labour Party would not increase the student contribution in any form. Fine Gael also stated they “will not increase the student registration fee further” on page 37 of their Election manifesto. Yet despite their pre-election committments against further increases to third level contribution chargers, it was heavily rumoured that Fine Gael and Labour were considering a return to full upfront fees. These rumours were fueled by the President of UCC, Dr. Michael Murphy, who was quoted in the Irish Times saying he believed that student fees of at least €4,500-€5,000 per year are necessary to maintain the quality of higher education in Ireland. “Less than nine months on, we have a government in hiding” proclaimed Redmond during his address
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20,000 students from across the country marching as a part of the USI ‘Stop Fees, Save The Grant’ protest on November 16th
Staggered €500 Increases to Student Contribution Charge Now Rumoured CONOR O’BRIEN
In a move paralleling that made by the previous government following last year’s USI protest march, the current Coalition has claimed that student fees are likely to go up by €500 next year. This can conversely be interpreted as a success or disappointment by those who marched recently against similar issues raised at last year’s protest, as this is far shy of the gargantuan sums being considered by the Department of Education prior to the march. Minister for Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn has “all but ruled out” hiking fees to over €5,000, a suggestion that sent alarm bells ringing for students and parents alike and culminated with the recent descending of some 20,000 or so protesters on the capital. The €500 increase, however, may have been
intended by the Department from the get go, with rumours of a far higher hike being circulated to soften students up for the smaller blow they actually had in store. This being the case, it now seems likely that a year-by-year increase in the college contribution charge is on the cards, given that the proposed increase would almost surely not be enough to meet the funding shortages which the Irish university sector is currently suffering from. Recently for instance, President of UCC Dr. Michael Murphy claimed in an interview with The Irish Times that increases in the range of ten times that currently being considered by the Minister would be required to resolve the funding debacle and maintain and/or increase the quality of Irish third level education. Changes of this magnitude would see the development of a third level system more closely resembling that in the UK, where university admissions have fallen as an increasing
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number of students pursue degrees in Irish universities where costs have – until now – been lower. Extra cash injections will prove critical for Irish universities in the coming years, with admissions expected to rise by 30% over the next decade, which would place an unbearable strain on current resources and infrastructure. Any increase would see serious scrutiny of Mr. Quinn from within his own party, an organisation which has long stood by free education and opposed heightened fees under the previous government. This is combined with the intense pressure being placed on the Minister by the USI in recent months, who aside from this month’s march also have an ongoing case against the Minister for increasing the criteria of the non-adjacent grant without providing provisions for students already enrolled in third level courses.
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