1,000 signatures reached
To: Government of Ireland
Tackle the #CostofCollege!
- Build affordable student accommodation
- Reduce rents
- Protect Renters
- Fees abolished
- Fully & Adequately Funded Public Higher Education
- The minimum wage is the Living Wage
Why is this important?
Students are in the red.
- 88% of students report worrying about their money and finances during the academic year.
- There is an expected shortage of 20,000 student beds by 2024.
-The €1,000 reduction in the Student Contribution Charge is a once off reduction.
- PhD students are still fighting for a stipend that covers the cost of living.
We, the students, need to take a stand for affordable, accessible education. Students can’t afford to stay quiet, so we’re walking out.
At 11.11am On October 13th 2022, thousands of students walked out of lectures, to remind politicians that students aren’t an endless money pit.
Our demands for students are as follows -
Accommodation Demands:
Protect Renters
- Legislation to protect students in digs-style accommodation
- Continuing the eviction ban for students
- Legislative change to allow the RTB to intervene in disputes relating to security deposits
Reduce Rents
- Legislation to enact an immediate rental cap
- Establishing freezes on utility bills separate from rents
- Allowing the RTB to intervene in relation to security deposits
Subsidisation of affordable PBSA from public funds
- Building on public lands new and refurbished PBSA
- Specifically ensuring approved PBSA is affordable in conditions
- Re-establishing the interdepartmental group on student accommodation
Cost of College Demands:
Abolishment of the Student Contribution Charge
- Abolition of the fee within the Lifetime of this Government
- Transparency on how non-EU and postgraduate fees are set
- Removing hidden course costs in materials and subsidies
Funding for the HE Sector (inclusive of SUSI reform and funding)
- Funding to increase SUSI grant levels to match the cost of living
- Increasing SUSI rates for all brackets to a living subsidy
- Increased funding to the sector to reduce the staff student ratio to the European average of 15:1
Minimum wage to match living wage
- The normalisation of wages for workers under 20 years old
- A PhD stipend of €28,000 following the PhD review
- A living wage based on the cost of living, not the median income