Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Mairéad Farrell TD, has commended third level students on yesterday’s (17th October) walkout protest as part of a fight to “make Ireland a home for young people again“.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) also launched a petition to the Minister for Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe, demanding he support students and invest in third-level education.
Teachta Farrell said:
“I commend the tens of thousands of students who walked out yesterday in relation to this government and its predecessor’s failure to make Ireland a home for young people.
“Ireland continues to export its people to far flung places like Australia because they can’t afford to make this island their home.
‘It was only two years ago that a similar protest was launched. The government weren’t listening then, just as they’re not listening now. They cannot continue to drag their heels and fail our young people.
‘The student housing crisis gets worse year on year. Rents go up year after year. The price of buying a home goes up year after year. This is the legacy of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in government.
“Housing should be a basic human right but it is not one this government are interested in delivering.
“They have continued to underfund third level education. We have some of the highest pupil teacher ratios in the EU. We have outdated infrastructure and research equipment.
“Meanwhile the government is sitting on record corporate tax revenues. This is a Tory style mentality where they have no interest in investing in the structural transformation we need, whether it be in housing or third level education.
“Instead, they think they can just throw a few one off payments at people before an election to secure their return to government. If people want to see the transformation that we need then they are going to need to go out and vote for it. Ending the housing crisis would be the number one priority of a Sinn Féin government.”
