Workers Solidarity Movement

Every year the so called “free education” that is our right, costs us more and more. If the proposed rise in registration fees goes ahead , it will mean many currently enrolled in college will have to drop out and college will simply not be an option for many of the next generation of potential students. All because the politicians are attempting to make the public pay for the mistakes of a small class of wealthy individuals. Many of us are up to our necks in debt, many more live in poverty. Due to the economic downturn, the job prospects when we graduate are poor and those of us lucky enough to find work will be taxed heavily to pay the banks’ and speculators’ debts.

Over 1,500 students from Cork’s various colleges took to the streets to protest the fee increases and cuts to the education system anticipated in the upcoming budget. Students gathered at the UCC grounds, and when the marchers from CIT made it to the university grounds the protest moved off and headed to the city centre by an unusual route via Dyke Parade, the north Leeside quays and Patrick St. to the plaza at Grand Parade.

Roughly 50 students occupied the grounds of the Department of Education today in the bitter cold, erecting a marquee to hold a 'Surprise Conference.' Garda looked on until after a few hours when apparently a deal was reached whereby the students would pack up early and their would be no arrests. Given the cold that police were probably keen to get back indoors for a cup of tea.  The Department was invited to participate but failed to provide a speaker.

Free Education for Everyone (FEE) has begun a peaceful protest at Anglo Irish Bank on Forster street, Galway, calling for an immediate General Election. FEE places the blame for Ireland’s current economic situation directly on the Fianna Fail politicians, who refused to regulate the financial system, and on the bankers, who took advantage of the lack of regulation to gamble on the markets. Once those bets fell through the Irish people were threatened: that failing to bail out the bankers would result in national ruin.

Six days after last weeks Garda riot in Dublin the state TV channel was finally forced to broadcast the footage of cops beating students that has been circulating on the internet from the time of the assaults. The RTE 1 TV report referenced the fact that thousands of people were viewing this footage at a couple of points in the report including at one point admitting that 86,000 had viewed one clip.

The WSM has released a press statement condemning the Garda attacks on student protesters in Dublin today during which many students were injured by Garda batons.  We say that we need to stand together in this period of attack on our quality of life and futures. What is clear today that like elsewhere around Europe and the rest of the world, police repression will be used by the state to try an make our movements for social justice and equality fearful and less open and effective.

For an account of the protests as they happened with videos see Riot police attack students after they storm Department of Finance in Dublin

Students from Free Education for Everyone (FEE), who organised todays occupation of the Department of Finance, have released the following statement detailing why they organised the occupation, who took part and the giving some details of the brutal Gardai attack on the occupiers.  A WSM member who was present and whose arm was injured in the Gardai assault revealed that as soon as the Gardai entered the occupation they started punching people in the face despite the face that the students were telling them it was a peaceful protest and they were not resisting them.

Riot police attacked students in Dublin today with dogs, armoured vehicles and horses after the students protesting against government cuts occupied the Department of Finance and threw eggs at the Dail.

Upwards of thirty students occupied the Department of Finance in the center of Dublin with a couple of hundred supporting them in the streets outside.

Another larger group of students was reported outside the Dail throwing cans & bottles at it. Several students were injured in the suppression of the protest.

Tens of thousands of students were demonstrating as part of the USI protests against plans to introduce fees. The students carrying out the occupation appear to have broken away from the main demonstration which took place around the corner in Merrion Square. Student members of the WSM, eirigi and the SWP were at the scene. The WSM members published the reports below to this site.

Students assembled just before 12pm today in Maynooth to join lecturers and other staff at the National University of Ireland NUI Maynooth on the picket lines for a number of hours.. Solidarity pickets were placed on both North and South campuses of NUI Maynooth.

Any excuse will do for the University College Cork “Societies Guild” in order to suppress the freedom of speech of pro-choice students. First it was that “a society already exists which caters for debate in the area of abortion and choice”. That society being the clearly anti-choice “Prolife” society – who have no interest in debate on the issue.