Local Sinn Féin TD, Cathy Bennett, has called on government 'to end the charade of faux opposition and confirm to students if they will have to pay increased fees this September.
Speaking following a Sinn Féin Private Members Motion in the Dáil, calling on government to scrap the proposed increase and reduce fees by the further €500 and permanently abolish student fees within two years, Bennett described governments "unwillingness to bring clarity’ as ‘deeply unfair."
The Cavan Monaghan TD said; "In a matter of weeks, students will be returning to their studies or setting off to college for the first time. What should be a time of excitement for so many will turn into a very stressful situation as they face the challenge of funding for so-called free education being impacted. Not content in recent weeks with weakening protections for student renters and driving their rents up further, the Government is now effectively toying with students by increasing the cost of their education by an additional €1,000.
"The Minister for further and higher education, the Minister for public expenditure, the Minister for finance, the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach refuse to clarify whether the bill due in a matter of weeks will be €2,000 or €3,000.
"It is a simple answer. Students and their families should not be victim to the internal manoeuvres of the disingenuous attempts by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to portray themselves as Opposition parties while they are in government, playing the deflection game as usual. It is apparent the well-being of students, financially and otherwise, is the furthest thing from the Government's mind."
Following the debate Bennett described government as ‘sitting on their hands in the midst of a mess of their own creation, while colleges begin to issue bills €1,000 higher than last year’.
