Students take legal action over closure of audiology course at Athlone IT

The decision to cancel the country’s first undergraduate course in audiology has been described as a “fiasco”, the High Court has heard.

Students Megan Munnelly, Knockbrack, Corballa, Co Sligo, and Diarmuid O’Connor, Ballyvodock, East Midleton, Co Cork, had just completed the first year of their BSc degrees in audiology at Athlone Institute of Technology when they discovered the course was being cancelled.

In July, AIT said it was canceling the course because the Higher Education Authority would not provide funding for the four-year programme, which includes a year and a half of work placement. The funding would not be provided as the HSE was not prepared to provide the students with work placements.