The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has voted to approve its pre-budget requests for submission to the government ahead of Budget 2025, with an extensive list of supports requested for higher-level education students across the country.
The submission, titled “Help Out or Get Out,” maintains several key stances that the USI has pushed in the wake of the pandemic, as rising costs of living and accommodation crises remain at the forefront of students’ priorities.
Some of the heaviest focus of the submission is on living and accommodation supports for students; the USI has requested €2 billion for the fully-supported creation of 30,000 new beds in student accommodation, which comes on the back of the well-documented accommodation shortage as colleges supply record numbers of places in the CAO. Provost Linda Doyle has called the situation a “real crisis,” and the government has promised the construction of 358 new beds in Dartry to supplement Trinity Halls. In June 2024, Minister for Higher Education Patrick O’Donovan specified that funding was not yet sourced for the project, which was announced in 2019.
The union also doubled down on prior requests left unfulfilled by the government, most notably increased supports for postgraduate workers. The union acknowledged the government’s efforts to support postgraduates through bolstered maintenance grants, but said “there is a pressing need for more substantial action to address the financial strain on postgraduate students.” The submission requests a minimum €25,000 stipend for all postgraduate researchers and a cap on postgraduate fees at €3000.
The report acknowledged the government’s reduction of higher-education fees in the last two budgets and argues that those measures prove an ability to permanently reduce higher education fees in Ireland. The union requested a permanent reduction of fees by €1500 as well as plans to completely abolish fees enacted “over the next few years.”
The USI is also requesting free public transport for students, which was a request that went unfulfilled by the government from last year’s pre-budget submission. In the report, the union estimates that the measure would cost €200 million.
For international students, the pre-budget submission requests an elimination of the Stamp 2 visa’s yearly renewal policy, which costs those from outside the EU €300 every year. Additionally, the USI calls on the government to give higher education institutions funding to support asylum seekers and refugees seeking higher-level education.
Other notable requests include the payment of a living wage for placement students, as well as student workers, the removal of apprenticeship registration fees and an additional €1 million for free period products distributed across colleges.
