Protest told students may be forced to drop out if college fees return to €3,000
Students gathered outside Leinster House on Tuesday evening to protest against suggestions from Higher Education Minister James Lawless that the €1,000 reduction in college fees will not be repeated.
The Government has insisted that it will honour its commitment to reduce fees but has ruled out reintroducing the cost of living package that saw the fees drop to €2,000 in recent years.
The protest was organised by Labour Senator and former Union of Students in Ireland (USI) President Laura Harmon and addressed by members of the opposition.
Alex Angland, President of the UCC Student Union, said that 'as the cost of living continues to increase, students are being pushed towards a breaking point'.
He added: 'Education is a right, not a privilege. Yet the government continues to place undue financial burden on students and on their families.
'More and more students are forced to take on unsustainable debt, to work excessive hours, and in some cases, to abandon their dreams of third-level education due to financial hardship.'
Matt Mion, Education Officer at UCD Students' Union, told the crowd that he had brought a copy of page 72 of the programme for government, which stated the Government would 'continue to reduce the student contribution fee over time'.
He also read from the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil manifestos and the promises that were made during the election regarding fees,
He said: 'What are they doing now? They're reversing.
'I have it here. I have the paper it's written on and it's not worth sh*t.'
Maeve Farrell, President of Maynooth Student Union, said any decision to return student fees to €3,000 would be a 'disgraceful and unjustifiable decision'.
She added: 'Myself and my fellow officers in Maynooth Students Union have been contacted by students who are devastated and terrified that this will mean the end of their studies.'
Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty accused the Government of 'weasel words' and said they had made a promise to cut student fees in the Programme for Government.
He said: 'The question I have to the Government is, what have the students of Ireland done on you?
'Just last month, you unleashed your Minister for Housing, which has unleashed the landlords and allowed them to jack up rent for students to whatever level they want.
'Now we have the Minister for Higher Education jacking up student fees by another €1,000 at a time when rents are up, prices are up and now they want to put student fees up.
'Enough is enough. Now is the time to fight back.'
In the Dáil, Taoiseach Micheal Martin defended the Government's stance on student fees, saying there are 'lots of instruments' to help students make college more affordable.
Mr Martin said: 'This time last year was exactly the same position because the previous year had not provided estimates for the reduction of €1,000 that happened last year.
'It was exactly the same position and actually Sinn Fein had a motion down this time last year as well doing the exact same thing.
'There is an estimates process and there will be a budget. We will look at the full range of supports, including fees.
'We will look at student supports and stronger supports for students with disabilities.
'We will look for stronger supports for children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and we will look at progression into third level from different areas, and into postgraduate and research.
'There is a significant menu, and lots of instruments with which we can help students, particularly those on middle and lower incomes to make college more affordable.
'It is across the full gamut of instruments we have or provisions we can make in the budget.'
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