Green ‘U-turn’ on fees sparks student protest
A group of about 30 students entered the building at midday and engaged in a peaceful sit-down in the main lobby of the Custom House building.
Union of Students in Ireland (USI) president Shane Kelly said the minister has refused to rule out the reintroduction of third level fees, which is currently under consideration by Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe.
“We’re here to highlight the Green Party’s ability to do somersaults on its election manifesto, in which promises were given that the Green Party would not support any introduction of fees or any form of student contribution,” Mr Kelly said.
He said the students who gathered inside the Department of Environment did not intend to disrupt the public, but added that similar protests would continue as long as politicians continue to “break their word”.
Several gardaí monitored the protest but there were believe to be no public order issues and the group left the building at about 5pm.
The accusation of broken promises was put to Mr Gormley yesterday through the Green Party press office. However, in response it issued a one-line statement from the party’s education spokesperson Paul Gogarty, saying that the reintroduction of university fees is not part of the Programme for Government and is not Green Party policy.
Young Greens chairperson Barra Roantree called on USI to stop pulling stunts by occupying offices and to start suggesting solutions.
“Perhaps instead of attacking the Green Party who have repeatedly voiced their opposition to the reintroduction of third level tuition fees, USI would better serve the interests of students by opposing the two main parties who both support fees,” he said.
“The USI should instead highlight areas where savings could be made in the education budget. For example, the broken system of maintenance grants is both ineffective and inefficient,” Mr Roantree said.
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