“Activists from Trinity’s new Cut the Rent group will begin early next week to canvass students on withholding rent payments as part of a rent strike. The announcement was made tonight at Cut the Rent’s first meeting, which also saw impassioned speeches from students …” (more)
[Aisling Marren, University Times, 1 October]
“A march organised by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) to protest the increased costs of attending third-level institutions has been called off due to the adverse weather conditions forecast for the day. Hurricane Lorenzo, a category two hurricane currently situated 3,000 kilometres south west of Ireland, is expected to bring high seas, severe winds and heavy rain from midday on Thursday, when the march is due to take place …” (more)
[Robert Quinn, University Times, 1 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]
“The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) may lead a rent strike in the future to protest the costs of Ireland’s student accommodation, according to President Lorna Fitzpatrick. In an interview with Hot Press magazine, when asked her about an article in The University Times calling for student-led rent strikes, Fitzpatrick said that ‘there’s nothing ruled out’ …” (more)
[Emer Moreau, University Times, 25 September]
“Students are being used as pawns in a university’s row with the Government over the effect of insufficient funding on international rankings, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has claimed. USI president Lorna Fitzpatrick said third-level education is underfunded and colleges are forced to compete with each other for project-based funding …” (more)
[Marie O’Halloran, Irish Times, 23 September]
“Despite an increasing number of students in higher education, and the rising cost of student accommodation, the number of students eligible for SUSI grants has fallen by six per cent over the past three years. RTÉ this morning reported that SUSI statistics show that 80,000 students availed of the grant last year, down from 85,000 in 2015 …” (more)
[Robert Quinn, University Times, 13 September]
“The grant provided by the Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) does not cover even half of the cost of accommodation in Ireland’s major cities, a committee has heard. The SUSI grant, which provides funding to third-level students for fees and maintenance, also fails to reflect the cost of living, particularly for housing …” (more)
[Cate McCurry, Belfast Telegraph, 12 September]
“Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor has been accused of ‘offering sympathy’ but ‘only vague solutions’ to what has been described as a mental health crisis among college students. The claim, from Fianna Fáil mental health spokesman James Browne, came after the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) published a report showing 38% of students experience extreme levels of anxiety …” (more)
[Cormac McQuinn, Independent, 28 August]
“Lorna Fitzpatrick, USI president, tells us how students are spending up to 30 hours a week commuting to college because they can’t afford the high cost of accommodation …” (podcast)
[RTÉ – This Week, 25 August]
“The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) have called on the government to break the barriers to third level education. In a statement, the USI criticised government ministers Joe McHugh and Mary Mitchell O’Connor for downplaying the accommodation and higher education funding crises …” (more)
[Tadgh McNally, The College View, 20 August]
“When Adrasteia Hughes accepted her offer of a place studying sociology and linguistics at UCD, she had no idea of just how draining the daily commute would be. She spends up to four hours each day on buses and trains in rush-hour traffic to get from her home in Co Kildare to the campus at Belfield and back again …” (more)
[Lynn Rusk and Jade Wilson, Irish Times, 17 August]
