On the eve of Article 50’s triggering, the Union of Students’ in Ireland (USI) this evening voted to campaign to protect the “rights and values” of students, uniting Northern and Southern students against the the impact of Brexit.
The vote at USI’s national congress was unanimous in its support of mandating the union to campaign for students during the UK’s negotiations with the EU, and any subsequent negotiations between the Irish government and the UK.
USI represents students in Northern Ireland, working with the National Union of Students (NUS), the UK’s national student union, to represent over 200,000 thousand students, and many speakers from the north of Ireland took part in the debate.
No one spoke against the motion, and numerous speakers referenced the now-familiar concerns over the status of the border, freedom of movement and the rights of Northern Irish citizens following UK’s exit from the EU.
Sean Fearon, President of Queen’s University Students’ Union (QUBSU), described Brexit as a “source of deep frustration for citizens of the North”. The issue, he said, “will impact every single person on the island of Ireland, particular the North and particularly students”.
Kevin McStravock, President-elect of Ulster University Students’ Union (UUSU), echoed these concerns, criticising the lack of leadership on the issue in both Northern Ireland and the UK. “We need to show our elected representatives what real leadership looks like.”
Oisin Hassan, the QUBSU Education Officer, emphasised that students needed to speak with a “collective voice”, while Colum Mackey, President of UUSU, took a similar stance, arguing that “we need students North and South to unite and take the lead”. Dylan McGowan, President of Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT), emphasised the close ties between his institution and Ulster, in particular the university’s Magee campus.
Fergal McFerran, President of NUS-USI, which represents students in Northern Ireland, spoke briefly about the dangers of Brexit and what it will mean for students and residents of Northern Ireland. The North, he said, had been powerless in Brexit: “If the people of the north of Ireland wanted to leave the the EU, we would have voted for it.”
Brexit, which enjoyed little support among the UK’s younger generation, was most staunchly opposed by universities and higher education institutions, with many expressing concern about the impact on academics, researchers and funding.
As negotiations begin, numerous universities have established taskforces and working groups to assess the opportunities and challenges of Brexit, while the Irish Universities Association (IUA) is also lobbying the Minister for Education, Richard Bruton, on the issue, as negotiations begin in Europe.
Dominic McGrath was reporting from USI’s congress in Ennis, Co Clare.
