Paul Glynn | Staff Writer
A proposal to increase the student charge for the Trinity College Dublin Sports’ Centre has been tabled and rejected by the college’s Capitation Committee. Michelle Tanner, Head of Sport and Recreation and a representative of DUCAC on the Committee, proposed that the mandatory charge added to yearly student fees be increased from €77 to €87. Ms Tanner submitted a memorandum to Moray McGowan, Chair of the Capitation Committee, dated the 14 October, outlining her proposal to increase the charge by €10 for the coming academic year from 2014-15.
An increase would “enable [the Sports Centre] to continue to deliver affordable brilliant sports facilities and services to all students that rival our competitors.”
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According to the proposal, an additional €10 paid by every student on registration would generate approximately €160,000 which would allow for the facility to deal with the costs of the replacement of depreciating equipment, and increase capacity, as well as manage wages and pensions for its employees. The proposal stated that the centre was expecting an operating deficit of around €45,000 for the year 2012-13.
Speaking on the potential increase in the student charge, Ms Tanner said that it would “enable [the Sports Centre] to continue to deliver affordable brilliant sports facilities and services to all students that rival our competitors. It is useful to note that relative to counterparts in other Irish Universities, Trinity students enjoy unrivalled value-for-money for sport and recreation.”
She added that “the levy hasn’t increased in 5 years, but the cost of providing excellent facilities and programmes has increased year on year.”
“The levy hasn’t increased in 5 years, but the cost of providing excellent facilities and programmes has increased year on year.”
Tanner stated in the proposal to the committee: “Sport and Recreation contributes significantly to a quality student experience in Trinity College. It is therefore essential that the business model underpinning the service safeguards financial feasibility and allows the Department to maximise opportunities and strategic objectives for students and the college.”
The proposal further mentioned that external sources of income, such as that coming from membership fees, would not suffice to cover the operating costs of the facility. External membership numbers were below target by 33% for the year 2012-13. Although student charges were the main source of income addressed in the report, Tanner stated that it would be possible for non-student membership prices to increase as well, saying: “Changes are made as and when required in response to market and economic demands.”
10,000 students activated their membership in 2012-13, which stood for 72% of the facility’s total usage.
The level of uptake on student memberships to the Sports Centre was, nevertheless, commended in the proposal. 10,000 students activated their membership in 2012-13, which stood for 72% of the facility’s total usage. “On a national and comparative level,” the proposal states, “this is outstanding and a success reflective of the charging model for students, whereby more students pay less.”
Ms Tanner is hopeful that the proposal will be brought up for discussion again in the near future, noting that: “we were advised due process regarding budgets and charges will be followed and will be addressed next term.”
The charge for the Sports Centre has been at €77 since the academic year 2009/10. The charge was introduced in 2007/08 at €70 with the proviso that it would increase yearly in line with inflation. The student charge for the TCD Sports Centre is also one of the cheapest for university sports facilities in Ireland: the complexes in DCU and NUI Galway charge €250 per year, which can be included optionally in students’ yearly fees, while all UCD students pay €208 mandatorily per year for membership, with an optional €99 top-up for extra services.
