Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) has voted to ringfence €10,000 to be spent on projects chosen by students.
The “10k Have Your Say” project implements a participatory budgeting model as an “empowering, civic-minded, transparent and inclusive model of budgeting that is designed to serve that community”.
The motion was proposed by TCDSU President Leah Keogh and seconded by Citizenship Officer Julie Smirnova.
Speaking in favour of the motion, Keogh said the model “has been piloted in various states around the world”.
“It gives the stakeholders in the community the opportunity to decide how a budget is spent”, she said.
Keogh added that the project will be open to all students who have ideas on ways to enhance the college experience using the money and will allow students to “further their own passion projects”.
TCDSU Welfare Officer Sierra Müller-Owens also spoke in favour, saying: “This is our money, we should get to decide how to spend it.”
The Higher Education Authority (HEA) fund for student services arose after the HEA fined Trinity in 2012 for giving excess allowances to College Tutors. Trinity was fined €603,709.
The funding must be spent on “student services” and it can only be accessed by a majority vote at council.
The money has funded a Student2Student intern, wheelchair fencing, a placement bursary, refurbishment of the mature student’s space and a laptop rental scheme.
The HEA fund, which is controlled by TCDSU and the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU), can only be spent on one-time, non-recurring costs, and cannot be spent on services which the College should already be providing.
TCDSU Council has previously voted to spend the money on converting the Parlour in Goldsmith Hall to a “sun room”. It also funded a trial to extend the 24-hour section of the Berkeley/Lecky/Ussher (BLU) Library, which became permanent, until hours were reduced again during the pandemic.
Speaking at Council tonight, Keogh said that the union is working to reopen the BLU Library 24-hour period.
