The government have announced that student fees would be reduced from €3000 to €2500 in Tuesday’s budget, to mixed reactions from students in UL.
The €500 deduction means students will still pay higher fees than in previous years. The government controversially announced in the summer that fees would increase from €2000 to €3000, with Minister for Higher Education James Lawless stating “in the absence of a cost of living package, student fees will rise”.
There was mixed reaction among UL students about today’s announcement. Some welcomed the news, while others criticised the government for its handling of the situation.
“If it can follow the same trajectory and go back to €2,000 that would be perfect” said Adam Goughran, fourth year Sports Science student.
Adam’s classmate Sarah Leane shared his sentiment, calling the announcement “a step in the right direction”.
But not all students were satisfied.
“It’s a disgrace in an increasingly terrible cost of living crisis. The government have said it’s a decrease but it’s really an increase. Most students can’t afford to live, they can’t afford to rent, and they travel long distances every day” stated Aron Calvert, a fourth year Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning student.
Fourth year Cybersecurity student Brian O’Connor said: “They’re trying to see how much they can get away with charging. They said “we’ll try kick it up to 3,000 and then if there’s enough of a fuss, we’ll put it back down to 2,500.” If it was really necessary to make us pay three grand, they’d make us pay three grand”.
First year business students Nnenna Akwajah and Lara Simic Kokot called on the government for more consistency.
“They need to make up their minds. It’s silly. The government needs to lock in right now”.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers and Minister for Finance Paschal Donohue announced the budget on Tuesday. It also saw a €5,000 rise in income thresholds for the SUSI grant, which now stands at €120,000.