STUDENTS WERE yesterday urged to make sure that they are registered to vote in the forthcoming general election and let their local politicians know that they are opposed to planned increases in university registration fees.
The call came at a rally in Cork yesterday afternoon where about 1,200 students from University College Cork and Cork Institute of Technology braved icy winds and freezing temperatures to express their opposition to the planned increases. UCC Students Union president, Keith O’Brien told a rally on the Grand Parade it was unacceptable that students are being made to pay through increase registration fees and reduced tuition for mistakes made by the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Coalition Government.
“Do not ever forget the lies and the betrayal and the mistreatment of this country by this Government,” said Mr O’Brien as he urged students to also oppose social welfare cuts and work to build a better fairer and more equal society.
USI president Gary Redmond said any increase in registration fees would result in some students having to give up their third level education.
In Dublin yesterday, a group of students held a “surprise conference” protest on the grounds of the Department of Education on Marlborough Street.
A group of about 50 students entered the grounds at about 10am and erected a large tent.
The majority of students came from Dublin’s National College of Art and Design and the protest was not organised through the Union of Students in Ireland (USI).