Students Chain Themselves To Government Buildings.

27 August 2002

Students chained themselves to the railings of the Department of Education and Science, Department of Finance and Fianna Fáil party headquarters at 11am today in protest at the recent increase in registration fees and Minister Dempsey's refusal to meet with them over the matter. The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) organised the simultaneous chainings, which are due to end at 3.34pm. The protest will last 274 minutes, a minute for every euro the registration fee was increased by. USI has also warned Minister Dempsey that actions will escalate in the coming weeks unless he is willing to respect their request for a meeting. Students from colleges in the southern area will simultaneously be bombarding the Department of Education and Science with e-mails and faxes requesting a meeting for the duration of the protest.

Colm Jordan, President, USI said: "The Government has chained students to poverty with its actions in recent months, and today's actions are a symbol of this. Without as much of a whisper of warning, college registration fees were raised by €274 euros, adding another link to the chain of disadvantage that prevents thousands from realising their academic promise. Students will remain chained to the railings of these key sites for 274 minutes today, a minute for every euro that these back-door fees were increased by. Last week we also saw how students will have to endure long delays before payments of their first grant cheques due to the Department of Education's failure to send VECs this year's grant application forms in time. In many ways, the Department of Finance is pulling the strings with regard to the education cutbacks, so this is why it and the Fianna Fáil headquarters are being targeted. Today's actions are the first in a series of protests planned for the coming weeks and months. This is a last resort for us as Minister Demspey has refused to acknowledge our call for a meeting."

Noel Hogan, Campaigns Officer, USI said: "Minister Dempsey is facing an autumn, winter and spring of discontent unless he is willing to respect our calls for consultation regarding college registration fees and other pertinent matters. Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education, but Ministers Dempsey and McCreevy do not seem to realise this. Ireland's most precious raw material as a nation is the high level of education that our students can attain when given the opportunity. It says little for the Government's appreciation of this fact that they have made students the victims of stealth taxes.
USI represents 250,000 students on this island, and these will be returning to their studies in the coming weeks. Today marks the beginning of a new phase in our protests over the 69% increase in registration fees. Minister Dempsey has yet to acknowledge our request for an urgent meeting on the issue almost a month after it was first requested. We warned him earlier in the month that he would be unwise to think that this anger will simply evaporate while he was on holidays. In fact, students will be making out budget projections for the year at this moment in time and will realise that their part-time job during term time may have to become full-time jobs to fund the cost of living as a direct result of the Government's stealth taxes."