Budget is ‘missed opportunity’

Union of Students disappointed, while students concerned at death of Celtic Tiger

With the cost of living higher than ever before, Brian Cowen’s recent Budget has been described by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) as a mixed result for third-level
education.

USI president Hamidreza Khodabakhskhi said the Minister for Finance had: “Missed opportunities to support students,” but welcomed Cowen’s investment in infrastructure and capital spending for the education sector.

Highlighting the delay in issuing more medical cards and the absence of new initiatives to address high
living costs, the student body said Budget 2008: “Sends an unfortunate message to those considering college from low income backgrounds. We heard nothing about measures to tackle the soaring cost of college.”

With the average monthly rent in Dublin topping €450 per month, Khodabakhskh called on the Government to take more “ambitious” measures to “ease student hardship and make a determined effort to attract and retain more school leavers from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

Meanwhile in a poll conducted at Ballyfermot college, 90 percent of students expressed concern over the country’s future economic prospects. 

Media student Ciara Smyth said: “I can’t see any reason to think that Mr Cowen hasn’t just squandered his opportunity to save the Celtic Tiger economy and send our futures back to the hard times of the 70s and 80s when graduates had to leave the country to find work”.

Lauren Halligan, who’s in the second year of a journalism course fears she “May never be able to afford to buy a house”. She continued: “It’s scary because the Celtic Tiger is all my generation have known. We’ve never knew Ireland in recession before. I wouldn’t like to have to go abroad to find work but if it comes to it, I may have to”.

“I think Fianna Fail have been a very lucky Government and really the country’s success has not been down to them. It would be interesting to see if a Labour government could save the Celtic Tiger.”
And the gloom doesn’t seem to be confined to students of this college.

Sixth year pupils attending the college’s recent open day were asked how they felt about the future and how confident they were in the Government’s ability to guide us back to prosperity. Emer Murphy from Clondalkin said: “Things are just too expensive. I don’t even know if I will be able to afford to come to college. But at the same time I don’t know if I’ll get a good job if I don’t.”

Another prospective student, John McInerney from Navan said: “The Government needs to put more money into transport. I won’t be able to afford to live in Dublin if I come to college but the public transport system is so bad that I really don’t see how I could travel from Navan each day.”

- Liam Cahill | Pic: Shauneen Armstrong