[…]for Welfare, Colette Murphy said: “On this World Suicide Prevention Day, and as we get ready for the new academic year, we encourage every student to look into their on-campus student counselling services to make sure they are aware of this support if they need it during the year. There are counselling services in every college and university, and they are free and available to every student. “However, we cannot talk about student counselling services on a day like today, without highlighting how under-resourced these services are. The counsellor to student ratio is Ireland in nowhere near the levels that […]
Increasing the number of third-level places without the infrastructure and support services to match, is a populist move that will result in students suffering, according to the Union of Students in Ireland. Yesterday, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, celebrated the increase in the number of students being offered their first CAO choice, attributing it in large part to the increase in the number of third-level places by the Government. However, while widening access to higher education is an important aim – that we share – increasing places without the required accommodation and support […]
[…]July 11 from 11am to 4pm. Students’ Union representatives from across Ireland joined the new USI Coiste Gno to talk to the attending politicians ahead of the Dáil summer recess. The aim of the Lobby Day was to ensure Oireachtas members were aware of the six key issues for students before decisions on Budget 2024 start to be made. Some 39 TDs and Senators attended the Lobby Day – a list of who attended, or sent a representative, is included at the bottom of this statement. The six areas highlighted by student representatives on the day, were: 1. Student […]
[…]Statement I thank the committee and the Chair for the invitation to participate today. I am the vice president for postgraduate affairs at the Union of Students in Ireland, which is the representative body of students for third level education in Ireland. The research and innovation Bill is being discussed at a time when 50% of the Irish academic workforce is on casualised contracts. Postgraduate researchers have no working rights or living wage, and our expenditure on research and development is among the lowest. Furthermore, poor international research mobility, the highest postgraduate fees in the EU, funding gaps and lack […]
[…]and participants for their commitment to communicating why research matters in Ireland and in the world […]
