Students March to Break the Barriers to Higher Education on October 3rd
On Thursday, 3rd October the Union of Students in Ireland are hosting the National Demonstration to Break the Barriers to higher education. Currently, some of the barriers to education include;
- Ireland has the second-highest fees in the EU [will be the highest after Brexit]
- Rents are rising at a staggering rate [In Dublin, rent for purpose-built student accommodation costs over €800 per month]
- SUSI grants are not linked to the cost of living and the system is too rigid
- Postgraduate grants should be reinstated to pre-2012 rates
- Back To Education Allowance should be increased to support students with attending college
- Apprenticeship fees were introduced in 2012, we believe they should be abolished
USI President Lorna Fitzpatrick will lead the National Demonstration on October 3rd. Conor McCabe Photography.
USI President, Lorna Fitzpatrick said:
“Students are politically active, now more than ever. We are a force to be reckoned with and will no longer lay down while the Government take advantage of our vulnerability. On October 3rd we will march outside Leinster house and make noise like they have never heard before. Students need to be listened to and represented in Budget 2020.
Our Government needs to stop kicking the can down the road, we need investment in Higher Education. Our Institutes, Colleges and Universities are treating students like pawns to fill a gap left by the Government. ”
In previous USI National Demonstrations, crowds of over 20,000 students have gathered to demand change from the Government. Students will march from the Garden of Remembrance to Merrion Square South where USI President, Lorna Fitzpatrick alongside Kevin Donohoe Chair of the Coalition for Publicly Funded Education, Ciara Fanning President of the Irish Second Level Students’ Union [ISSU] ad students who have been affected by the barriers to education will address the crowds.