Ninth Level Ireland

“To ensure accessibility of education and the well-being of its students, UCD should make its fees proportional to parental income. Not all fees are covered by the free fees initiative and Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). The most daunting factor of university is accommodation. With the rising cost of living in Dublin, any undue financial burden could keep a student from being able to attend school …” (more)

[University Observer, 12 October]

“Callaghan Commons is the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Dublin City University Students’ Union. Here, he writes about how Budget 2020 should focus on students and access to education …” (more)

[TheJournal.ie, 5 October]

“According to media reports, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) is soon to publish the results of a study on levels of inequality in access to third-level. That students from poorer households are less likely to attend college is not surprising to anyone who has been paying attention in recent decades …” (more)

[Declan Jordan, University Times, 2 October]

“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]; …” (more)

[USI, 30 September]

“How come many Irish students are paying €3,000 a year to attend university or college, when we’re supposed to have free third-level education? Maria Flannery and Cillian Sherlock walk you through what led to the introduction of ‘free fees’ in the mid-90s, where today’s €3,000 figure comes from, and what’s happened in the third-level sector which has left many institutions reliant on that money to keep the lecture rooms open …” (video)

[RTÉ Prime Time, 30 September]

“One in three students rely on their parents to pay their college fees, according to new research. A new study from the Bank of Ireland shows that 36% of students rely on their parents to contribute towards college fees, which can reach the maximum of €3,000 per year. While Irish students have an average income of €9.20 a day, or €258 a month, 35% have less than €100 of disposable income per month …” (more)

[Gabija Gataveckaite, Independent, 19 September]

“In January, when news first broke of a mix-up between SUSI and Trinity’s Academic Registry that cost the College €1.7 million in unpaid fees, nobody was very happy with Academic Registry. At the time, it seemed staggering that the College unit with specific responsibility for fees had failed to notice a shortfall worth hundreds of thousands a year …” (more)

[University Times, 8 September]

“Months after the discovery of a mix-up between SUSI and Academic Registry that left the College out of pocket for €1.7 million in unpaid student fees, Trinity is still chasing over €500,000 in unpaid fees, The University Times has learned …” (more)

[Donal MacNamee and Emer Moreau, University Times, 5 September]

“With September looming, the annual news cycle has invariably turned to the perennial problem of student accommodation, or, more correctly, the lack of it. What is increasingly clear is that, with their eye-watering rents, the newly built purpose built student accommodation blocks found on most college campuses have done little to alleviate the issue. In fact, far from providing a solution to the accommodation problem, they are starting to look more like corporate investment vehicles …” (more)

[Donal Horgan, The Burkean, 24 August]

“Warning that Ireland was on the precipice of a full-blown education crisis, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) today told the Minister for Higher Education that college fees must be reduced by €500 …” (more)

[Cormac Watson and Emer Moreau, University Times, 23 August]

“The SUSI grant was never intended to cover the full cost of college, the Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Higher Education has said. Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Mary Mitchell O’Connor also ruled out a proposal by the incoming President of the National Parents Council Post Primary that the Government could act as co-guarantor for loans that parents have to take out to cover the cost of their children’s third-level education …” (more)

[RTÉ News, 14 August]

“Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Education, Thomas Byrne, has said the Minister for Education must not be allowed to wait for the next Government to tackle the tumbling ratings of Ireland’s Universities. Deputy Byrne was speaking following comments made by Minister McHugh where he stated that the Government will not act to address the crisis in higher education in this Dáil …” (more)

[Fianna Fáil, 14 August]

“Minister for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor has advised students to use their grant from the SUSI grant to pay for accommodation increases, amid a funding crisis the government says it can’t tackle until after a general election …” (more)

[Orla Murnaghan, University Times, 14 August]

“Sinn Féin TD for Dublin Fingal Louise O’Reilly has criticised the Fine Gael led government labelling it ‘arrogant and out of touch’, as two Ministers offer tea and sympathy to students and families facing rising third level costs. Deputy O’Reilly said: …” (more)

[Sinn Féin, 14 August]

“Stanley Petlane joined the more than 58,000 Leaving Cert students around the country in nervously opening the envelope containing his exam results on Tuesday morning. He was relieved he had done well and pleasantly surprised by his high score in physics …” (more)

[Sorcha Pollak, Irish Times, 13 August]

“Families who cannot afford to send their children to university should consider more affordable options in regional colleges, Minister for Education Joe McHugh has said. He was speaking after more than 58,000 students received their Leaving Cert results on Tuesday morning …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 14 August]

“The education minister has denied he is electioneering over promises to freeze student fees. Joe McHugh has previously promised there will be no increase to the €3,000 student registration fee, and he says he does not see any price hike if Fine Gael remain in government – a statement that has been criticised as ‘electioneering’ as the nation prepares for an upcoming general election in 2019 or 2020 …” (more)

[Aoife Moore, Belfast Telegraph, 13 August]

“Provost Patrick Prendergast has warned that higher education could become a ‘crisis issue’ if the government fails to invest in the sector soon, arguing that loans schemes ‘should be investigated further’ as universities battle intractable financial problems …” (more)

[Donal MacNamee, University Times, 12 August]

“Education Minister Joe McHugh’s political promise to freeze college fees for five years was made without any input from the Department of Finance, the Irish Examiner understands. The promise to freeze fees at €3,000 a year for college students was made by Mr McHugh despite ongoing demands from universities for the Government to address a major funding shortfall in the sector …” (more)

[Daniel McConnell, Irish Examiner, 12 August]

“Minister McHugh has made clear that Fine Gael and the Government will not introduce student loans and will not increase fees. So, that tells us what the Minister will not do, we now need to hear what he and Fine Gael will do to solve the long-accepted funding crisis …” (more)

[IUA, 12 August]