Gary Redmond made his mark bringing bands like East 17 to UCD. He has a strong ‘likeability factor’ and he knows how to mobilise students. But can the former Ents man hold the line on college fees and registration charges?
GRADUATES ARE leaving Ireland at a rate of 100 a week. Last year’s budget nipped 5 per cent off the student grant and this year’s may do the same. Systemic disorder prevails; today’s students may well get their first dole payment before their student grants come through.
The student union movement has not been wholly successful in its efforts to protect the student purse over the past 20 years. While State pensions and dole payments have risen by almost 150 per cent in the period, the student grant has only gained half that and in the 20 years since the introduction of free fees the universities have pushed the registration charge to €1,500 and counting.
Gary Redmond (24) from Arklow, Co Wicklow comes to the USI presidency with all the old issues still in play – and recession into the bargain. At the centre of his election campaign was the promise to fight rising registration fees and falling grants.
However, the best lobbyists in the country can’t get blood from a stone. So what is this former Entertainments Officer (Ents), the first in UCD history to go on to the union presidency, planning to do in a recession that couldn’t be done in a boom?
“Any president this year would have a very tough job preventing key decisions being made,” says a commentator. “Within weeks of his appointment the department changed the criteria for postgraduate grant eligibility and there was nothing the USI could do about it. He says he is strong on the registration fee issue but I don’t see how the union can prevent further increases.”
That said, within USI, there is confidence in Redmond’s grit. Supporters cite his involvement, as UCD president last year, in the lobbying of the Green Party and their subsequent ultimatum to Fianna Fáil on the issue of third- level fees. “The Greens have a disproportionate amount of student support and Gary leveraged that to get a guarantee on fees in the Programme for Government,” says a USI insider. “He’s well able to work the political end of the job.”
Gary Redmond’s unusual background as a former Ents Officer has been cited as a strength and weakness for USI. Many student leaders come from the education side and know policy inside-out.
Redmond made his mark at UCD bringing in bands like The Venga Boys and East 17, and securing 92 per cent sell-out rates for events under his watch. He also held the posts of operations manager and director of UCD Students’ Union services. As president, he secured a €100,000 refund from the college when students were overcharged on a centre levy.
“Gary is very strong on the money side and that is what the union needs right now,” says a colleague. “He’s a very good commercial operator and the right man in the right place to consolidate USI’s resources.”
Redmond’s election campaign made much of his business acumen, promising moves on a central online ticket system, centralised Ents booking, bulk-buying services and a preferred suppliers list.
A commercial sensibility like Redmond’s will be useful to USI, which has been starved of funds since the post-9/11 collapse of its commercial student travel company Usit. He has plans to develop the services end of the union and is currently working on a national student discount card, among other business projects. Working in student entertainment, Gary has figured out the buying power of the thousands of students he can access with the right incentives. He has plans for a country-wide student club night to raise funds.
Will all this be enough to assuage the fears of those who supported the opposition in the USI presidential election in April? There were only three election votes between Redmond and Linda Kelly, the former USI equality officer and seasoned policy campaigner.
“That was big mistake,” warns a former USI insider. “Linda Kelly is organised, well-connected and primed for campaigning on the big stuff. Plus, USI hasn’t had a female president for years. That was a missed opportunity.”
But Redmond should not be underestimated, says one seasoned observer. His great skill, he adds, is to surround himself with people who can cover the policy corners his years in entertainment didn’t take him to.
Critically, he also has the likeability factor, say supporters. "His Ents experience has taught him how to mobilise students. And he knows how to pull a stunt; Redmond was behind last year's Irish Timesadvertisements stating the positions of all TDs on the fees issue.
His position on registration fees will have been strengthened by the recent Dáil Public Accounts Committee where university presidents struggled to explain generous – and unauthorised – allowances for senior staff. It painted a picture of a profligate establishment undeserving of the funding it gets, never mind looking for more from hard-pressed students. Recently pictured with a papier mâché Batt O’Keeffe in front of a “Department of Unemployment and Emigration” plaque, Redmond’s not shy of pulling a stunt. He is certain to capitalise on the current discomfort of university presidents.
Redmond is also building up policy. Along with his vice-president Conan O’Broin (former Trinity SU president), Redmond has held meetings with Tánaiste Mary Coughlan and Minister of State Seán Haughey to discuss the union’s proposal for a National Internship Programme for graduates. He may experience success here to offset probable failure on the grants and fees front.
“There’s nothing to be won this year for USI,” is the grim appraisal of one former official. “It’s all about holding ground and with the recent decision by the department to scale back the eligibility criteria for post-grads, the student movement has lost some ground.”
But Redmond has already built up key contacts across the education sector and that likability factor is a real bonus, says one commentator.
One former official is downbeat: “If Redmond can build up services at USI, bring in funds and give students a few good nights out into the bargain, it may be the best that any Irish student union leader could hope for this year.’’
But a supporter cautions: “This guy has oodles of charm, a great eye for PR and a clear sense of what he wants to achieve. Only a fool would underestimate him.’’
Factfile USI
Membership
The Union of Students in Ireland has 43 student union members. Student unions from each of the colleges affiliate with USI, and automatically, their part-time and full-time students become members. Therefore, by default, USI has more than 220,000 members from higher education institutes around Ireland.
Funding
USI is primarily funded through annual membership fees paid by its constituent student unions (€5 for full-time students and €2.50 for part-time students). The union receives no State funding.
Budget
The annual budget is more than €500,000. This is spent on student and student union officer training, officer salaries, staff wages, the running of campaigns, providing assistance to member student unions and the upkeep of the organisation.
Representation
USI has representation on the boards of the Higher Education Authority, Irish University Quality Board , the Higher Education and Training Awards Council and the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland.
USI also sits on the boards of the Irish Council for International Students (Icos), Association for Higher Education Access and Disability (Ahead), and contributes to the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (Glen), the Road Safety Authority and drinkaware.ie
