Members of Take Back Trinity have joined a sit-down protest staged by Take Back the City outside Leinster House on Merrion St.
The action follows the national Raise the Roof rally, which drew thousands on Molesworth St to protest the homelessness and housing crisis this afternoon.
The sit-down protest was promoted beforehand on Facebook as an “afterparty”, with no details released about the action. Leaders of Take Back the City told those present that the original plan had been to storm the Department of Finance.
Students from all over the country gathered at the Garden of Remembrance at 11am, before proceeding to Leinster House, calling for action to be taken on the housing crisis and for support for a cross-party opposition motion coming to the Dáil today.
The march was organised by the Union of Students’ in Ireland (USI) as a replacement for the annual march for education, as the national union places more emphasis on the impact the housing crisis is having on students.
Hundreds of students gathered at Trinity’s Front Square this morning ahead of the assembly in the Garden of Remembrance. Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) President Shane de Rís told those present: “Students are sitting in the library till 2am because they don’t have anywhere to go.”
TCDSU was joined by University College Dublin Students’ Union (UCDSU), Dublin Institute of Technology Students’ Union (DITSU), Dublin City University Students’ Union (DCUSU) and many more students’ unions at the Garden of Remembrance this morning.
At the rally outside Leinster House, President of the Union of Students’ in Ireland (USI) Síona Cahill told the crowds present: “We are being already being locked out of education. This is about access, opportunity and equality and we have a responsibility to ensure our people have the right to access education.”
“This is the social justice issue of our generation,” she said. “The government must declare a national emergency for accommodation and our politicians must act because we refuse to be locked out any longer”.
This is the latest in a series of drastic actions taken by Take Back Trinity. The group has, in recent months, occupied vacant buildings on Summerhill Parade and North Frederick St, as well as organising a national day of action that saw traffic on O’Connell St grind to a halt.
