Call for urgent clarity on €1,000 college fee increase ahead of Leinster House protest
"The lack of a clear decision on whether the €1,000 reduction in third-level fees will be retained in Budget 2026 is compounding anxiety for thousands of young people already struggling to make ends meet.'
Third-level fees were reduced to €2,000 from €3,000 through cost-of-living measures for last two academic years, but the Government has ruled this out for 2025/2026.
On Tuesday, the Labour Party, Sinn Fein, the Green Party, Social Democrats, People Before Profit and Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn will lead a protest at Leinster House to demand certainty in relation to the issue.
The NYCI is calling for Budget 2026 to include a package of dedicated measures to address the financial pressures young people face.
These include a commitment to permanently reduce third-level fees to €1,000 a year and provide immediate clarity on the situation. Additionally, the council is calling for the equalisation of the rate of Jobseeker's allowance for those under 25 and the scrapping of allowed minimum rates of pay that are below the national minimum wage.
'Continued failure to support young people through fair income policies" is worsening the blow caused by the increase in third-level fees,' Ms Walsh said.
'Young workers remain on sub-minimum wage rates, despite a clear recommendation from the Low Pay Commission to abolish them.
"Meanwhile, those on Jobseeker's Allowance under the age of 25 continue to receive a reduced rate, well below what is needed for a minimum standard of living.
'It's time for a budget that moves young people from surviving to thriving. Anything less is a failure of leadership,' she added.
This weekend, Further and Higher Education Minister James Lawless said he would push for budget measures to reduce the €3,000 annual fees for college students by several hundred euro permanently.
However, this has not been agreed by the government parties, with the Fianna Fáil minister committing only to 'seeking the very best possible outcome for students and their families' during budget negotiations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Focus in Budget 2026 has to be on transforming infrastructure, Martin says
The Government's focus in the next budget has to be on transforming infrastructure, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said as Sinn Féin insisted a cost-of-living package had to be included. Such a package has been ruled out in advance of Budget 2026 in October, including payments that have benefited the average worker by €1,000. In the Dáil Mr Martin said there would be supports in the budget but said the focus 'quite simply has to be on transforming our infrastructure'. Challenging the Government's budget stance, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the Taoiseach was 'doubling down' on the removal of support payments 'for struggling households at a time when living costs are through the roof'. READ MORE Irish households are paying 30 per cent more than the EU average for electricity each year , almost €350 extra, recent Eurostat data shows. The ESRI said it was difficult to explain such a difference. The Government proposes to cancel the 'very help they desperately need' in energy credits as part of a cost-of-living package in the budget, Ms McDonald said. 'People are being fleeced now today, when they open their electricity or gas bill, when they get to the checkout with the weekly shop, when they go to fill the car, and when they go to buy basic toiletries like toothpaste or shampoo,' she said. Mr Martin acknowledged that prices are 'relatively elevated' following the peak of inflation and that Ireland has the third lowest rate of inflation in the EU. He said the Government had done a lot and 'more than any other European government' in terms of cushioning and trying to reduce the impact of cost-of-living increases on people. This included extending the VAT reduction to 9 per cent on electricity and gas, which will save households €70 for gas and €55 for electricity. Mr Martin said there will be a significant increase in the number of people eligible for the fuel allowance in September and that the carers support grant increased to €2,000 in January, benefiting 138,000 people. He said from June women can receive HRT free of charge. [ Why are food prices going up? Who is profiting and what can be done about it? Opens in new window ] He also pointed to the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, the free schoolbook scheme and the free hot meals scheme in primary schools. 'We have to be prudent,' he said. 'We have to be cautious and careful in terms of the resources that we have. And I know everybody wants us to spend billions, but that is not open to us.' He said 'we will be spending a lot. There won't be any austerity in itself but there has to be some degree of caution because the situation could change' he said, in reference to the threat of US president Donald Trump's 30 per cent tariff .
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Former Seanad candidate wants full recount of agricultural panel vote, court hears
A former Seanad election candidate wants a full recount of the recent agricultural panel vote in the interest of fairness and transparency, the High Court has heard. Cllr Angela Feeney, a member of the Labour Party's central council and former head of Technological University Dublin's school of languages, law and social sciences, has brought a High Court petition challenging the conduct of vote counting for the agricultural panel. Cllr Feeney, a councillor in Kildare, wants January's election result overturned and a recount ordered. She was eliminated on the 23rd count by a margin of .116, or one-ninth, of a ballot, missing out on the final seat to Fine Gael's Maria Byrne. READ MORE Each valid Seanad ballot paper is deemed to have a value of 1,000 votes. The total valid poll for the 11-seat agricultural panel was 95,667 votes. Cllr Feeney's case claims there should have been a full recount of the ballots, rather than simply a repeat of the 23rd count. She says her request for a full recount was denied by the returning officer. On Tuesday, giving evidence at the hearing into her action, Cllr Feeney said she was asking the court to grant the recount in the interest of fairness and transparency. She added that the 'bigger issue' in the case is transparency and public faith in the electoral system. Cllr Feeney said she was 'surprised' when counting at the count centre began at such a distance that candidates and their teams had no proper sight of the process. Counting continued at a distance of about 7ft away and did not lend itself to 'proper oversight' of the process, as one might expect at local or Dáil election count centres, she said. Cross-examined by Catherine Donnelly, senior counsel for the returning officer, Cllr Feeney agreed other candidates vying for a seat on the agricultural panel were eliminated by similarly slim margins, less than the value of one ballot paper. Cllr Feeney said because she was last to be eliminated, she had the potential to be elected. None of the other candidates missed out by virtue of a margin as fine as hers, she said. Cllr Feeney agreed that her side had not identified any particular error in the count process. She said she believed the error was not allowing the full recount and the lack of transparency. Ms Donnelly put to Cllr Feeney that the count was visible to candidates. The councillor said the visibility was not adequate. Asked why she did not raise with the returning officer concerns around transparency when she first arrived at the count centre, Cllr Feeney said it did not seem she and her team had an opportunity to raise such concerns. Conor Power, senior barrister for Ms Feeney, said the returning officer had discretion in granting a full recount but a number of factors must be considered in exercising that discretion. In Cllr Feeney's case, those factors included the narrow margin of difference between her and the next candidate, the very small margin of difference on a number of previous counts and the possibility of human error during the count, Mr Power said. The case continues before Mr Justice Mícheál O'Higgins.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on rules for immigration: a case of more haste meaning less speed
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) has put the Government on notice that parts of its flagship immigration legislation breach fundamental rights and may well end up being challenged in the Irish and European Courts. The International Protection Bill 2025 will give effect to the EU Migration and Asylum Pact which seeks to align asylum practices across the EU by next June. The process by which applicants for international protection are assessed and adjudicated and, if necessary, removed from the State will be simplified with the objective of giving a decision – including appeal – within two to six months, depending on an applicant's circumstances. The procedure currently averages 18 months. The dysfunctional nature of the current system – and the opportunity provided to reset it by the EU Migration and Asylum Pact – is acknowledged by the IHREC. But it is equally clear that many of the proposed measures may not comply with the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights. READ MORE It has identified several issues of concern in the proposed legislation, in particular the right of applicants to free legal advice, which will now only be available at the appeal stage. It has also flagged a lack of clarity in relation to how the age of minors will be determined if this is disputed. It has also raised concerns about the rights of applicants with no identification who are covered by the UN Refugee Convention to which Ireland is a signatory, but which is not yet incorporated into national law. The common theme to these and the other issues raised by the IHREC is that the Government's rush to get the International Protection Bill enacted in time to meet the deadline for the introduction of the EU pact may be counterproductive if it leaves it open to numerous legal challenges, either from the commission or others. It notes that effective scrutiny of legislation by the Oireachtas – which appears difficult under the current timelines – could go a long way to heading off challenges . A case of the more haste the less speed.
