Student sit-in at department over third-level fees

A GROUP of students occupied the Department of Finance’s headquarters in Dublin yesterday to highlight their opposition to the Government’s proposals to reintroduce third-level fees and other education cutbacks announced in the recent budget.

Around 15 students entered the building on Merrion Street Upper at about 11am and staged a sit-in protest on the main stairway for more than two hours. A similar number held a demonstration outside.

No arrests were made as the protesters agreed to voluntarily leave the building around lunchtime after a senior civil servant accepted a letter of protest handed in by the group. The protest was organised by a group called Free Education for Everyone (FEE) which is described as a national grassroots group of students and college workers.