Ninth Level Ireland

“The Postgraduate Workers Alliance of Ireland (PWAI) is demanding worker status, greater pay and better employment contracts with access to sick pay, holiday pay, pension contributions and parental leave for PhD and postgraduate students. Following their launch two weeks ago, the PWAI has released a petition, outlining the key demands of their upcoming campaign …” (more)

[Jamie Cox, Trinity News, 26 May]

“Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the contribution currently made by the Higher Education Authority towards graduate entry medicine per student; the cost of increasing the HEA contribution towards graduate entry medicine tuition fees by €5,000 and €10,000 per student, respectively based on the latest available student numbers; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 6 May]

“In a recently published survey from the Trinity Postgraduate Workers Alliance examining the impact of Covid-19 on postgraduate researchers, we found that 90% of respondents had been negatively affected by the pandemic. Some 35.6% reported loss of income, over 60% reported negative effects on their mental health, while others worried about the security of their accommodation and broader impacts on their research …” (more)

[Conor Reddy, University Times, 8 April]

“This week marked the one year anniversary since Mary Naughton, founder of the UCD Post-Graduate Workers Alliance (PGWA) marched on a meeting of University management to present their demands, along with the backing of an emboldened Students’ Union …” (more)

[Rosie Kuntz, College Tribune, 26 February]

“On Monday, February 8th, UCD organised a meeting for the Post-Graduate Workers Alliance with the Dean of Graduate Studies, Professor Barbara Dooley who dismissed the concerns brought up by the Alliance. According to a post in the Alliance’s Facebook group, the invitation to attend the congregation stated that the Dean would be comfortable to answer queries and questions concerning matters such as extensions on assignments and theses …” (more)

[Caolan Dooley, College Tribune, 16 February]

“The IUA welcomes today’s announcement by Minister Simon Harris TD, of an investment of €3.2m in 2021 to address the funding gap for Irish Research Council (IRC) postgraduate students and post-doctoral researchers. IRC postgraduate students will now receive a stipend similar to that offered by other national funders. For IRC postdoctoral researchers, this now brings their salaries in line with those agreed under the National Researcher Career Framework, recently published by the IUA …” (more)

[IUA, 29 January]

“Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD has today (29 January 2021) announced an increase in the value of the Irish Research Council’s research scholarships and fellowships. The enhanced funding of €3.2 million to the Council will better support postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers in Ireland across all disciplines …” (more)

[gov.ie, 29 January]

“Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the rationale for charging fees of over €15,000 per year for graduate entry medicine courses, which means that many students who finish the course leave university with loans of up to €100,000, and in turn results in emigration and exacerbates staff shortages in medicine; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 15 December]

“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures he has taken to urge universities to compensate postgraduate students for the move to online teaching and the much-reduced student experience promised in their prospectus and marketing campaigns; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 15 December]

“Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the practice of postgraduate students being expected to do unpaid teaching hours …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 15 December]

“Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the instructions, guidelines or recommendations made to institutions participating in the graduate medical programmes to support and facilitate the participation of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds given SUSI is not available; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 8 December]

“Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Council has voted in favour of a campaign to lobby the government to increase financial support for Graduate Entry Medicine students. Delegates from TCDSU who attend the Union of Students In Ireland (USI) National Council and USI Congress are to put forward motions at meetings of those bodies to establish a nationwide USI campaign to lower GEM tuition fees …” (more)

[Audrey Brown, Trinity News, 24 November]

“All full-time third-level students are to receive a €250 payment in the coming year to help compensate for the move towards greater online learning. It is one of a number of education measures set to be unveiled in Budget 2021 including the hiring of 565 additional teachers to bring the pupil-teacher ratio at primary level to a record low …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 13 October]

“Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the use of postgraduates in precarious positions for teaching and other duties is increasing in NUIG and that the university expects postgraduate workers to carry out unpaid teaching; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that postgraduates at NUIG have declared their intention to refuse to carry out work which is not remunerated at the existing collectively bargained rate; and the steps he will take to meet the demands of postgraduate workers (details supplied) …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 1 October]

“Thinking through the implications of Friday’s announcement for teaching I saw the following advice sent out to students from Maynooth University: ‘For the next few weeks most lectures will move online. You will be invited on-campus for practical classes, tutorials and for the teaching which requires a lot of interaction …'” (more)

[In the Dark, 27 September]

“Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to communications from NUI Galway to postgraduate research students for them to undertake unpaid teaching contributions; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 24 September]

“The Post-Graduate Workers’ Alliance at the National University Ireland Galway (PGWA NUIG) sent an open letter to the college president Donal Leech and the Minister for Further Education Simon Harris last night, affirming that they refuse to perform any unpaid labour for the college …” (more)

[Connie Roughan, Trinity News, 25 September]

“Postgraduate students at NUI Galway (NUIG) are refusing to carry out the university’s required 120 hours of unpaid teaching, with the Postgraduate Workers Alliance NUIG describing it as ‘exploitative and unjust’ …” (more)

[Molly Furey, University Times, 23 September]

“Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will raise the threshold for postgraduate SUSI grants to allow for the economic uncertainty due to Covid-19 …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 21 July]

The full (draft) Programme is here; extracts related to third level are here.