Budget 2025 was announced today.
It has been slammed by students groups and an opposition TD over the lack of support for third level students.
The Union of Students in Ireland says no measures to ease the pressure on students were announced today, despite it being the biggest budget in the history of the state.
Government announced a €1,000 one-time drop in student fees, the same as the last two budgets.
However the USI says it would have preferred to see that go permanent, instead of having students sweating over it possibly going back to the normal total of €3,000 fee in the next budget.
Union President, Chris Clifford: “In their speeches today, both Ministers Chambers and Donohoe talked about the importance of education and young people in our society, and yet they did nothing for third-level students."
He continued: "They talked about wanting to make Ireland the best place in the world to be a child, but between the cost of going to college, the lack of student accommodation and no mention of specific supports for students, it seems like they want to hand young people a plane ticket along with their Leaving Cert. results."
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Meanwhile, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Mairéad Farrell TD, said Budget 2025 has already proved a disappointment for students.
Teachta Farrell said despite the talk of a ‘giveaway budget’ and a record government surplus, for students its proved to be a “damp squib”.
The Deputy added, "There were some throw away lines in the speeches and some unclear measures in the document, which were wrapped up with others, so we need to see the details on what this will mean for student’s pockets."
"Missed Opportunity"
Finally, the National Youth Council of Ireland called it a "missed opportunity."
It says the Budget was disappointing for Youth Work and said it was particularly let down that sub-minimum wage rate was overlooked.
The minimum wage is currently €12.70 per hour (and that's soon to go up to €13.50, after an announcement today.)
But there is a law that allows employers to pay young workers an age-based rate below that, more information is available here.
The CEO of the Council, Mary Cunningham said, “Young people are valued members of the workforce, yet they continue to receive unequal pay for the same work. This budget overlooks a simple fix that would have made a real difference in the lives of young workers.”
