USI to protest over grants

Students will picket the offices of the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste this afternoon to protest over the amount of money they are getting in maintenance grants.

The Union of Students in Ireland are campaigning to have the grant raised from its current level of £49 a week, and want more students to be eligible for the grant.

USI President Julian de Spainn said this lunchtime: "Students have had enough."

Student accomodation in Dublin can now cost up to £90 a week, with the average weekly student rent in Waterford rising from £35 seven years ago to £55 today.