Seamus Donnelly
College Co-ordinator
Ógra Shinn Féin
With Batt O’Keefe on the verge of announcing his proposals for the re-introduction of third level fees in whatever guise he chooses in the next couple of weeks, it is incumbent upon all those who oppose fees to step up their efforts over the coming weeks to oppose the proposals that are imminent. I will in this post try and exam a number of issues.
An honest appraisal of the campaign so far, the unspoken truth about the re-introduction of fees and the options available to us in the campaign against fees.
To date the campaign against the re-introduction of student fees has failed.Having set out with the objective of stopping fees in any form, the introduction of legislation in the next week or two, to allow for fees to be brought back in means the campaign to this point has failed.
Yes there have been some highlights. The stunning scenes when a generation of students characterised for their apathy took to the streets in huge numbers in November and in February where undoubtedly highlights. The arrests of anti fee activists, including several members of Ógra in attempting to get their message across to government ministers that they did not want fees were also notable.
The campaign has been weakened by the inability of students to stand together to oppose this. The failure of many individual students unions to take a firm pro-active hardline, the inability of USI to manage a sustained campaign as a body and the division of the student body as a result of the formation of separate anti- fee groups have combined to weaken the campaign greatly. This weak leadership has been unsuccessful in stopping legislation being brought before the Dáíl.
The development of the campaign in the coming weeks requires student unity. The manner in which students are to conduct this campaign however must differ from the methods used already. It is clear that in spite of mass agitation, blockades and arrests the government have not, nor do they want to get the message - students will not stand for a re-introduction of fees.
That said it is now time for the government to hold their hands up and admit that they have made an absolute dog’s dinner of the education system (not just the third level sector). They have in spite of enormous wealth, failed working class communities in the 26 counties. The emphasis they placed on a low tax Ireland in the good times, has now come back to bite the government firmly in the backside in the bad.
They cannot be allowed to make the youngest members of society, those who have had absolutely no responsibility in leaving the country in the mess we now find ourselves in, the soft touch in their proposals to balance the books.
The government must also hold their hands up and say that they have under funded the third level sector over the last ten years. That rather than attempt to tackle social inequality and educational disadvantage (as they claim) the government are bending over backwards to appease the Presidents and Provosts of the third level sector as they attempt to drive their respective institutions up league tables.
Indeed it has to be said the unspeakable truth of the entire fees debacle is that the government has been committed to re-introducing fees from last summer when Batt O’Keefe first floated the idea. Furthermore given the current state of the economy the government in relying on the third level sector and the much hyped ‘knowledge economy’ to dig them out of this hole. To put it bluntly the third level institutions – more accurately the President of UCD and Provost of Trinity have the government backed into a corner.
If the government where truly committed to tackling social and educational disadvantage as they claim, they should tackle the archaic grants system that is in place. They should tackle the poor availability of affordable student accommodation, book and other materials. Costs relating to living away from home for many students can reach as much as €8,000 per year and the lack of a suitable grants system leads many students to work long unsociable hours often suffering at the expense of their studies just to ensure they have enough money to feed themselves. These are issues that must be tackled if participation at third level for working class students is to increase.
It is my opinion therefore that the next phase of our campaign to stop fees should focus not on stopping the proposals from the government coming forward but in ensuring that they won’t pass through the Dáil. This can only be done in one way, through pressure on the TDs that can make the decision. In this instance I would propose that this campaign focuses on those Independent and Green Party TDs from whom the government need support for their imminent proposals to be passed. This should be done not through counter-productive measures such as storming offices or intimidating the representatives, it can be done through letter writing and it can be done through phone calls to their constituency offices.
These representatives need the votes and transfers of students and their families to get elected and it is up to these students and their families to make their feelings known. It is critically important that the Independent and Green TDs that prop up the government know they and their party will not get student votes or preferences at election time should they vote for the re-introduction of third level fees in any guise.
If students needed any more warning about what the re-introduction of fees in any form could mean, they only need to look at the recent study in England and Wales that revealed that third level heads there want to increase fees by at least 100 per cent to £6,000 a year. The re-introduction of fees in the 26 counties (or any other type of fee payment scheme) would undoubtedly be the start of a slippery slope.
It is critical that the New Ireland, the one that emerges in the aftermath of the present financial difficulties is not merely a return of the get rich quick ways of the Celtic Tiger.
The present situation does not need minor changes. What Ireland needs is a radical new direction something that the present government is incapable of offering. But it is what we must demand.
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