Student protest - This is about more than just money

The thousands of third-level students should be warmly commended for their dignified and responsible protest in Dublin.

They were objecting to likely cuts in grants and increases in fees in the next budget.

The President of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), Gary Redmond, stressed yesterday that the two governing parties both made categorical promises during the general election campaign that they would not increase fees. The budget has not yet been agreed, much less published, so the speculation may be groundless.