Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)

What kind of government looks struggling students in the eye and says, "You're on your own"? That would be those sitting on the opposite side of the House. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael came into power on a narrative of fairness and support for young people, and access to education, but instead we got the Minister touting that student fees will rise in September. From the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, and the Ministers for public expenditure and Finance, we have heard a level of verbal gymnastics that was simply staggering when they try to avoid the question of €2,000 or €3,000. That €1,000 increase in a single year is not just a broken promise; it is another betrayal from this say-one-thing-do-another Government.

Students are squeezed from every side. While rents are skyrocketing, the Government refuses students basic protection from market-rate rent hikes. There are no solutions and there is no urgency, just the utter inability to grasp the stark reality for students. While the Government talks about opportunity, its policies shut the door to young people. It had a choice to stand with students or to abandon them and it has chosen to do the latter.

Students demand more. They demand fairness and Sinn Féin stands with them in those demands. We would introduce a cost-of-living package, cancel the €1,000 fee hike and reduce fees by another €500 so that this September, the maximum fee would be €1,500 instead of €3,000. We would also permanently abolish student fees within two years. Education is not a luxury but a right. If Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will not deliver on that right, they can be guaranteed these railroading students will do when the next Government comes in. The future belongs to our youth and it is time this Government stopped mortgaging it.

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