Students: No votes for those who back fee hike

THOUSANDS of students issued a warning to politicians they will not vote in next year’s election for anyone supporting increased college fees or cuts to grants.

Despite the freezing temperatures, more than 2,000 people made it to a lunchtime march in Cork city centre that brought some students three miles from the main Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) campus in Bishopstown, meeting up with their counterparts from University College Cork (UCC) on the way.

Protesters were told the strength of numbers which turned out at a national anti-fees rally in Dublin a fortnight ago was instrumental in the Government last week limiting next year’s increase in student registration charges to €500. However, the four-year national recovery plan also indicated further rises in the renamed student contribution charge up to 2014.