No money left in Hardship Fund at AIT
Students at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) have been forced to withdraw from college because of delays in access to student grants, according to Longford Westmeath Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy.
Deputy Troy was speaking as the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) steps up its campaign
of protest against cuts to student grants, increases in student fees and the on-going crisis in the SUSI system.
“Last week I attended a meeting organised by the Students’ Union at AIT and I was horrified at some of the stories,” said Deputy Troy.
“Fr Shay Casey who is the Welfare Officer at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT), told me there is no money left in the college’s hardship fund and that he knows of students whose only food on a weekly basis is a bag of pasta and tomato ketchup as they wait for their grants. This is incredible and a serious indictment of Minister Quinn and his Government.
“A student also contacted my constituency office to tell me he was withdrawing from college because he did not have access to college facilities and he could not pay his rent. Students are dropping out of college on a daily basis and the Government continues to bury its head in the sand.”
Students in AIT were joined by protestors in NUI Galway and GMIT last week as part of a nationwide campaign by the Union of Students in Ireland, which has already seen hundreds of students attend public meetings in Westmeath and across the country to voice their anger about the planned increase in student fees, the cuts to grants and the on-going crisis in the new SUSI system.
“Students in Westmeath and Longford have been treated appallingly by Labour and Fine Gael since they got into power. Many young people and their parents across the region voted for these parties based on their solemn pledge not to increase student fees. It quickly became clear though that Labour and Fine Gael made these promises with the sole purpose of getting into power, and had no problem abandoning them once they achieved it.
“The palpable anger among students at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) is completely justified. Not only do they feel betrayed by the Education Minister Ruairí Quinn and his colleagues, many of them are seriously worried about how they will now afford to stay in college. Far from reducing the cost of college as he promised he would do, Minister Quinn actually plans to increase the student registration fee by at least €1,000 within his term in office. He has also slashed grants, and he continues to preside over a deeply flawed grant processing system that has left thousands of students across the Midlands still waiting for their grants.
"In the Dáil last week, Fine Gael and Labour TDs in this region failed to stand up for the students and families who elected them. They refused to support a Fianna Fáil motion opposing further increases in student fees and cuts to frontline education services. I am calling on them to listen to the students who are protesting here today and to reconsider their damaging increases in the cost of college,” said Deputy Troy.
“Last week I attended a meeting organised by the Students’ Union at AIT and I was horrified at some of the stories,” said Deputy Troy.
“Fr Shay Casey who is the Welfare Officer at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT), told me there is no money left in the college’s hardship fund and that he knows of students whose only food on a weekly basis is a bag of pasta and tomato ketchup as they wait for their grants. This is incredible and a serious indictment of Minister Quinn and his Government.
“A student also contacted my constituency office to tell me he was withdrawing from college because he did not have access to college facilities and he could not pay his rent. Students are dropping out of college on a daily basis and the Government continues to bury its head in the sand.”
Students in AIT were joined by protestors in NUI Galway and GMIT last week as part of a nationwide campaign by the Union of Students in Ireland, which has already seen hundreds of students attend public meetings in Westmeath and across the country to voice their anger about the planned increase in student fees, the cuts to grants and the on-going crisis in the new SUSI system.
“Students in Westmeath and Longford have been treated appallingly by Labour and Fine Gael since they got into power. Many young people and their parents across the region voted for these parties based on their solemn pledge not to increase student fees. It quickly became clear though that Labour and Fine Gael made these promises with the sole purpose of getting into power, and had no problem abandoning them once they achieved it.
“The palpable anger among students at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) is completely justified. Not only do they feel betrayed by the Education Minister Ruairí Quinn and his colleagues, many of them are seriously worried about how they will now afford to stay in college. Far from reducing the cost of college as he promised he would do, Minister Quinn actually plans to increase the student registration fee by at least €1,000 within his term in office. He has also slashed grants, and he continues to preside over a deeply flawed grant processing system that has left thousands of students across the Midlands still waiting for their grants.
"In the Dáil last week, Fine Gael and Labour TDs in this region failed to stand up for the students and families who elected them. They refused to support a Fianna Fáil motion opposing further increases in student fees and cuts to frontline education services. I am calling on them to listen to the students who are protesting here today and to reconsider their damaging increases in the cost of college,” said Deputy Troy.
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