Edmund Heaphy | Deputy Editor
The second referendum on increasing the Sports Centre charge from €90 to €120 has passed, with around 88 per cent of 1,335 students voting in favour of the increase.
Speaking to The University Times, Ciara Browne, the manager of the yes campaign, said that they were “absolutely delighted with the result”, which “vindicated” the “rerunning of [the] referendum”.
Students currently pay an annual Sports Centre charge of €90 alongside the Student Contribution Charge. The Sports Centre, known to be strongly in favour of an increase, had said that, because it would be underfunded if the charge was to remain at €90, there would be a need for an increase in non-student, external members, and a blanket charge for use of the centre during peak times. The result means that Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) will advocate an increase to €120, and it is expected that this will happen for the coming academic year.
A similar referendum on an increase in the Sports Centre charge was defeated in February, with 58 per cent of around 4,700 students voting against the proposed increase. Advocates of holding the second referendum argued that, because the February referendum was held alongside sabbatical officer elections and a number of other referendums, students were not aware or adequately informed of the vote and the context of the need for an increase.
Yesterday, Jack Leahy, who served as Education Officer of TCDSU last year, criticised the rerunning of a referendum on the issue. In a Facebook post, he said that the yes campaign have “disregarded a result achieved by 4,700 votes but will happily accept a result in their favour delivered by a small fraction of that”, calling it “very, very bad for democracy.” In response, Browne said that they were “democratically allowed to hold this referendum as per the SU constitution, and the reality from talking to people on the ground was that they felt that they were not properly informed the first time round and that this second referendum was more appropriate”.
The referendum was held after a group of students, including Browne, collected over 500 signatures, the number required to hold a referendum on long-term policy.
The series of referendums follow a preferendum, a non-binding voting system which TCDSU uses to gauge student opinion, held in September alongside class rep elections, which saw students narrowly choose an increase to €120 over remaining at €90. Students were also given the choice of advocating for an increase to €160.
In 2007, students assented to a Sports Centre charge of €70, with any rises linked to inflation only. The charge has increased in bursts over the last number of years. In December 2013, when the charge stood at €77, the Sports Centre also argued for an increase, saying that it would “enable them to continue to deliver affordable brilliant sports facilities and services to all students that rival our competitors”. The charge was subsequently increased by €13 in the last academic year, to its current level of €90.
Students currently account for 80 per cent of the Sports Centre’s membership and 72 per cent of gym usage. Other members include staff and external members.
