NUACHTÁN SAOR IN AISCE VOL.19 Issue 10. 06 MAR 2018
Student Independent News
SU President lives Elections set to take place off direct provision on Thursday budget for one week 8 March By Martha Brennan Following the lead of his DCU counterpart, current NUI Galway Students’ Union President Lorcan Ó Maoileannaigh spent one week living on the meager allowance given to those in direct provision last month. He finished with just €4.20 in his pocket. He quickly learned how hard it is to try to live on just €21.60 for a week and tweeted about his experience online throughout the seven days. The SU president wanted to show how limiting such a restrictive allowance is for people in direct provision and did the exercise as part of NUI Galway’s Equality Week. “I thought it was really important to use my platform to get the message out there,” Ó Maoileannaigh told SIN. “Too often people live in their own bubble which makes it near impossible to empathize with unfamiliar situations, so I wanted to experience living like this first hand.”
By Sorcha O’Connor
The SU president said it was near impossible to do anything social or extra-curricular and that even though people in direct provision receive their meals, the allowance doesn’t take into account countless daily-life occurrences. He tweeted early on in the week that when he came down with a head cold he couldn’t afford to purchase Nurofen in the pharmacy because it would cost him 16% of his weekly spending money. “You can’t even afford to get sick,” he tweeted. Ó Maoileannaigh also struggled when he needed to make a trip to Dublin- the cost of one return ticket was nearly two euro over his whole weekly budget. “Travel was the biggest struggle,” he said. “If someone in direct provision here in Galway wants to go to Dublin to the Irish Refugee Council they have to save up. They can apply for expenses afterwards with proof of purpose of the trip but this is still a relatively arbitrary process”. In all, more than 4,300 people, including 1,600 children, are in direct provision in Ireland and
Protests against Direct Provision held in Dublin.
are living off of the minimal allowance across the state’s 34 accommodation centers. For those who need weekly prescriptions or need to pay for children’s school books and activities the money doesn’t go far. By the time simple household products, such as washing powder, are bought another dent has been made in the budget. The Irish Refugee Council and the Free Legal Aid Centre have called for the payment to be increased but the cries have so far fallen upon deaf ears. Students’ Unions across Ireland’s universities have been coming together in protest against the contentious scheme and Ó Maoileannaigh president is hoping that by stepping into the asylum seekers shoes like this, we can try to understand a little better just how much these people are struggling. “Doing something like this brings an element of realism to the current situation in direct provision centers in Ireland,” he said. “But I know that a one-week experience living off the allowance is only the tip of the iceberg”.
Current Students’ Union president Lorcán Ó Maoileannaigh has urged students to get out and vote this Thursday. Students will be asked to elect a new president and two new vice presidents. The role of Welfare Officer has been changed to Welfare and Equality Officer after a referendum held in early February. Ó Maoileannaigh reminded students that the vote is vital for ensuring you are represented by the person you think best to take a stand for you on university and national matters. “The SU elections are extremely important as you are deciding on who is going to represent you at a university and national scale. Those elected next year will negotiate with the university in relation to support services, capital projects and fees,” he said. He explained that the work of the elected officers does not just take place on campus as they approach local politicians and other elected officials to effect change for the student body and society as a whole. “Your officers meet TDs, Councillors and other elected officials and ensure that the student voice is heard at all levels of society. Our constitution reads that the Students’ Union is there ‘to promote, defend and vindicate the rights of its members at all levels of society’,” he said. “It’s important that you have your say in who represents you!” Candidates for president are John Molony, Ashwin Ravichandran, Megan Reilly, and Fiachra Mac Suibhne. Georgia Feeney, Clare Austick, Aisling Fallon, and Colman O’Connell are running for the position of Welfare and Equality officer, while Louis Courtney, Stephanie Koennecker and Cian O’Shaughnessy are running for Education Officer. Their campaigns kicked off on Sunday night and will carry on through until this Thursday when students can take to the polls from 9am on Thursday morning. Results will be counted on Friday with the winners of the election announced later that day.