Standing Up for Students on Fees and Funding

The new UCDSU team had barely gotten their feet under the desk when the alarm bells started ringing: reports emerged suggesting the Government might row back on its promise to cut the cost of going to college.

Along with all other SU, your new SU Officers were thrust straight into a national fight to hold the Government to its word — and to protect students from any return to €3,000 fees.

Matt and Emilia with William Aird TD

✊ Taking to the Streets

On Tuesday evening, the team joined students’ union leaders and opposition parties at a demonstration outside the Dáil. The demand? Crystal clear:

Minister James Lawless must rule out any return to €3,000 undergraduate fees.

For many students and families, even the current €2,000 student contribution charge is unaffordable. Last year’s €1,000 fee cut was a hard-won step in the right direction. We will not stand by while the Government threatens to undo it.

🤝 Bringing UCD Concerns to the Table

Two days later, Matt and Emilia met with William Aird, a newly elected TD for Laois. They brought forward key concerns specific to UCD students, including:

• The need for further reductions in student fees, not increases.

• The lack of finance and loan options for Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM) students, who are often locked out of fair and sustainable ways to fund their studies.

The team will keep pushing to ensure these concerns don’t fall off the agenda.

📣 Now We Need You

We’ll be ramping up pressure over the coming weeks, and we’ll need your help.

Keep an eye on our channels for updates, and get involved wherever you can. We know it’s the summer, but we hope you’ll take a moment to take some action.

📬 Have you emailed your TDs yet? Let them know you expect the Government to keep its promise.