Students confront Harney

ANGRY students were restrained by gardaí yesterday when they attempted to prevent Tánaiste Mary Harney leaving the opening ceremony of NovaUCD, the new €10 million innovation and technology centre at UCD.

A number of protestors were physically restrained but there were no arrests.

UCD students' union president Paul Dillon said the students were highlighting two primary issues of concern talk of increasing the registration fee for students nationwide and severe cutbacks within the college.

Recently students were informed that the UCD library would be forced to close one hour earlier each day due to budgetary constraints.

In an informal exchange, students were reassured by the Tánaiste that registration fees would not be increased in the current college year.

"We were pleased to hear that," said Mr Dillon, referring to gathering speculation that the Government was planning to increase the registration fee to €1,300 sometime in the 2003-2004 college year.

A spokesman in the Department of Education and Science reiterated that the fee would not be increased in the current college year. Regarding the 2004-2005 academic year, he said no decision had been made by the Government.

In the current issue of the students' newspaper, News Campus, Mr Dillon speculates that talk of a registration fee increase may have been a smokescreen to distract students from the issue of education cutbacks in general.