The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) today released data showing 74% of students fear experiencing negative mental health in the future. USI is also raising concern over the shortage of staff in mental health services to cope with the increasing demand for support, in light of Fianna Fáil claiming the HSE has failed to spend any of an extra €15 million earmarked for boosting staff numbers. USI President Michael Kerrigan said, “Students are experiencing depression, anxiety, loneliness, substance misuse, and suicidal behaviour, and there is not enough support and staff to help them. It’s well known that almost 75% […]
[…] We are sick of telling the Government that they are leaving students to couch surf or indeed live homeless – this issue has been going on far too long and needs resolution immediately. This is no longer an urban issue. We are seeing rental price hikes from Carlow to Sligo and everywhere in-between. Students need protection, and every student deserves an affordable place to call home and to study.” This Wednesday at 10.30am, the Union of Students in Ireland and national housing charity Threshold will outline their responses to the Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure Rent Certainty) Bill […]
[…]SpunOut.ie, NYCI (National Youth Council of Ireland) launch National Voter Registration Day 2018 today, Wednesday 14th November. Throughout the day, Students’ Union Officers country-wide will be registering thousands of students using the RFA form with the assistance of the Union of Students in Ireland. USI Vice President for Equality & Citizenship, Aisling Cusack stated; “Each year, the Union of Students in Ireland alongside Students’ Union countrywide incentivise students to register to vote. It is imperative that students are on the register considering the current political climate in the country, now more than ever, students need to be vocal on the […]
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) today welcomed the decision by the Irish government to hold a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment. The Union is calling on the Cabinet and both houses of the Oireachtas to make haste with the referendum procedures so holding a referendum in May 2018 can be facilitated. USI President Michael Kerrigan said, “What we have is effectively a repeal of the Eighth Amendment. Healthcare has no place in the constitution, and we will remain cautious of the wording of the referendum bill to see what the enabling clause will look like. We will […]
[…]to highlighting the systematic abuses faced by Palestinians at the hands of Israel. Today, May 15, is the anniversary of the Nakba, or ‘the Catastrophe,’ where Palestinians were expelled from their historic and ancestral land. Since then, ongoing actions have created over eight million refugees and over 800,000 internally displaced people through territorial fragmentation; segregation and control; dispossession of land and property; and denial of economic and social rights. The student movement has historically been at the forefront of important societal change, and on this day of commemoration, USI stands firmly with the Palestinian people against Israel’s […]
