Ninth Level Ireland

“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]

“Irish universities have rounded on Minister for Education Joe McHugh after he pledged not to increase student fees in the next five years, calling for ‘positive solutions on funding’ from the government. In a statement released this afternoon, the Irish Universities Association (IUA) said that McHugh’s promise not to increase fees beyond €3,000, made in an interview with the Sunday Independent, ‘tells us what the Minister will not do’ …” (more)

[Donal MacNamee, University Times, 12 August]

“The University of Limerick is to host a sexual consent workshop this week. Last year UL ran 48 consent workshops, primarily delivered by student life officers at the university …” (more)

[Mike Finnerty, Limerick Leader, 12 August]

“Northern Ireland’s universities generated more than £400,000 in student library fines over the last five years, the BBC has learned. Figures show that Ulster University and Queen’s University in Belfast amassed a total of £423,000 since 2013 …” (more)

[BBC News, 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]

“Going to college is expensive so Education Minister Joe McHugh’s promise to freeze fees for the next five years will be welcomed by students and their parents. A similar promise has already been made by Fianna Fáil so we can be reasonably sure that fee rises won’t happen for the foreseeable future …” (more)

[Independent, 12 August]

“If ever there was a sign of just how normalised the student housing crisis has become, it was the response of students to Trinity’s increased accommodation costs this week. Exasperation, rather than shock, was the prevailing mood to reports that the College had brought in €13 million worth of income from its student accommodation over the past year, even as the price of a room in Goldsmith Hall – hardly a palace – rose by €389 between last September and this one …” (more)

[University Times, 11 August]

“More than 55,000 Leaving Cert students are set to receive their exam results on Tuesday under a new fast-tracked process which will see college applicants receive their offers before the end of this week. The changes also mean students who appeal their exam grades will receive their results three weeks earlier than normal …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 12 August]

“Education Minister Joe McHugh has been told he must come up with a solution to the shortfall in third-level funding after he ruled out hiking students’ fees for the next five years. The call comes as universities are looking for an extra €117m in State funding for next year to pay for their basic operations …” (more)

[Kevin Doyle, Independent, 12 August]

“Hundreds of international academics have signed an open letter in support of a jailed Hong Kong law professor being held in solitary confinement, urging his university not to dismiss him from his job. Benny Tai Yiu-ting, one of nine founders of the 2014 Umbrella movement, was sentenced to 16 months in prison in April over public nuisance charges related to his role in the mass protests that lasted for 79 days …” (more)

[Katy Wong, Independent, 12 August]

“Pupils will be able to secure exemptions from the study of Irish without requiring psychologists’ reports under new changes being introduced from the start of the school year. It follows a Department of Education review which found evidence that the system was being ‘gamed’, with psychologists being placed under pressure by parents to give exemptions to students who did not qualify for the opt-out …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 11 August]