Smoke and Mirrors: Budget 2025 Ignores the Real Needs of Students
€1,000 cut to the Student Contribution Charge won’t do nearly enough for most students and their families
No mention of student accommodation, despite promises of key infrastructure investment
Bauer: “Students need a New Deal, not more half-measures wrapped in election spin.”
UCD Students' Union (UCDSU) has criticised Budget 2025 for failing to deliver meaningful support to students, describing it as another example of government smoke and mirrors. While the budget extends a €1,000 cut to the Student Contribution Charge (SCC), this gesture is unlikely to make a significant difference for the majority of students facing soaring costs of living and education.
More glaringly, the budget announcements have given no mention of addressing the student accommodation crisis, which is the foremost issue affecting the lives of third level students. Despite recent government commitments to invest in key infrastructure, student housing was left off the agenda, leaving students in unsafe, overpriced, and inaccessible accommodation.
UCDSU maintains that this silence on student housing is a major oversight that undermines the government's stated goals of setting the country up for long-term success.
The €1,000 SCC reduction is more symbolic than substantive, falling far short of the financial relief students truly need. Paired with the continuation of token measures like renters' credits and energy supports, it reflects a broader pattern of election-focused optics rather than real solutions.
Commenting on the budget, UCDSU President Miranda Bauer said:
“Students need a New Deal, not more half-measures wrapped in election spin. This government has had years to act and address the growing challenges we face. They’ve heard from us, read our reports, and seen students struggling in unsafe accommodation. Yet, instead of real action, we get another budget full of empty promises. The €1,000 SCC cut won’t do nearly enough for nearly enough students.”
Public transport could have been made free for students, but the government extended it only to children under 9. Meanwhile, the €0.80 increase in the minimum wage falls short of the living wage students and young workers desperately need. Politics is about choices. Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party chose to put this commitment into their programme for government that the Government, and they have repeatedly chosen not to implement it. The continuation of sub-minimum wage rates also sticks in the jaw.
UCDSU calls on students to make sure they are registered to vote, and to be ready to push for a new deal in 2025.
ENDS
