The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has called on government to abolish student fees and introduce free public transport for students in its submission to the government ahead of Budget 2025, seen by Trinity News ahead of its official release.
The document, currently 24 pages in length, also calls for €2bn to be allocated to the construction of 30,000 student accommodation units across the country, as well as providing €1.85m in funds for emergency accommodation for students.
USI President Chris Clifford notes in the foreword that: “The severe shortage of affordable and accessible accommodation has left many students in a constant state of anxiety, forcing them to choose between pursuing their education and securing basic living conditions.”
It proposes a budget of €200 million for the provision of free public transport to students, “to alleviate the burden” of commuting costs, as well as expanding bike schemes and rail networks across the country.
“The lack of public transport options only deepens the financial strain on students, who are already stretched thin by the cost of their education.”
“Compounding these pressures is the burden of high fees, which continue to act as a significant barrier, preventing countless students from accessing the education they deserve.”
Addressing this issue, USI are calling for the permanent reduction of fees by €1,500, alongside a plan “to abolish fees over the next few years”.
It also calls for the government to address the deficit in funding for the higher education sector originally identified in 2022, echoing the Irish Universities Association (IUA) in its pre-Budget submission released in June.
In their 9-page submission, the IUA outlines a “four-part funding programme” and calls Budget 2025 the government’s “last opportunity” to fulfil its commitments outlined in Funding the Future, a policy framework for investing in Irish higher education.
In 2022, Taoiseach Simon Harris, then Minister, identified an annual €307 million funding gap in higher education and pledged to close the gap in future budgets.
The group continues by highlighting that although the last two budgets accounted for €100 million in gross funding, “€92m of this has been eroded by unfunded pay awards arising from national pay agreements”.
Therefore, only €8 million in funding has been gained.
“Inflationary pressures, and in particular, rising pay costs have resulted in universities ‘running to stand still’ in budgetary terms,” the submission reads.
In its submission, IUA requests €120 million, at minimum, be allocated to Funding the Future.
They further request €92 million to account for underfunding in staff pay at universities through a “supplementary budget” and €171 million in “core funding” for pay awards as part of the Building Momentum and the National Pay Agreement 2024- 26.
A final €35 million is requested to account for an increase in students and pay for the costs of medical consultant contracts.
“Ireland’s dynamic economy is centred on world-class, innovative enterprises and a skilled and adaptive workforce,” the IUA wrote in its submission.
“Investing in our talent, as a primary enabler of future growth, is intrinsically linked to our future success as a nation.”
Other demands
USI asks that more courses be made available in the Irish language to counteract historical underfunding of the national language.
For mental health services, they ask that additional funding be allocated to establish a 1:1000 counsellor-to-student ratio.
The union are also calling for a “T-Fund” to be established in every higher education institution to support students in their gender identity, covering the costs of clothes, chest binders, and other social changes while transitioning.
USI told Trinity News that its official pre-budget submission will include additional funding requests and proposals. It is set to be released early this week.
