USI March

Union of Students in Ireland are holding a march on Wednesday 3^rd of November. The march is titled ‘Education not Emigration’, is to protest against the rising tide of emigration, budget cuts to third level and the raising of the registration fee. I would ask you to spend some time on your show the night before, (Tuesday 2^nd Nov) to debate some of the issues that are and will affect students.

Following next Decembers budget where state funding to third level institutions is expected to be cut by 3% they will face a significant battle to secure a college place. College administrators have had to cut costs by on average 6% over the past 2 years. But now to reduce costs further they will have no choice but to cap the number of places available on courses or even reduce the amount of places on offer.

If they do not do this the quality of Third Level education would decrease in this country, significantly damaging the accreditation of Irish Qualifications abroad. It is vital also that the standard of Third Level education here do not drop to ensure investment in our Universities like Limerick for research and to encourage foreign students to study here in Ireland. How can our government claim to be pursuing a ‘Smart Economy’ when they are squeezing the countries institutions to the breaking point? The standard even needs to be raised in some cases, as the fiasco where the Psychological Society of Ireland revoked accreditation from the American College Dublin, leaving most of the 62 students involved having to transfer to another Institution.

The current government is failing to direct investment into the country and thus isn’t incentivising companies to hire graduates. The draconian budget brought in at the time of the start of the recession severely limited growth in this country. Graduates in this University and others with honours degrees and masters are flocking abroad to Australia and Canada because of the lack of opportunities here. Even some who have been fortunate to be offered a job have turned it down in favour of heading on the plane abroad due to the reduced pay, long hours and poor benefits.

In my opinion it would be fitting to invite the President of the USI, the Minister for Education or Finance and the Education spokesperson from either Fine Gael or Labour. To add, even though my Students Union here in the University of Limerick does not affiliate itself with the USI they still will be supporting the march because of its objectives.

Queen's Visit

THIS proposed visit by Queen Elizabeth II for autumn next year will coincide with the 150th anniversary of her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria’s visit to Killarney in 1861. I find that her visit provokes controversy from the very hint of her relative. Victoria is without doubt not viewed with high esteem here in Ireland. During her reign, when this country was being ravaged by the Great Famine she blocked a donation of £10,000 from the Ottoman Sultan, she demanded he only donate £1,000. Her reasoning? She herself had only donated £2,000 to the plight of the starving Irish. If any visit retracing the steps of the Queen Victoria occurs, it would be insulting not to apologise for this. Such an apology, however, would not be very forthcoming from Britain’s current monarch – she prefers not to get involved with the past as with state visits to other former realms has shown. However, the British-Irish relationship has never been better than it is today. The North has a functioning government and even Ian Paisley visited Dáil Eireann, he famously declined a 1980s invite by replying with "Ulster says NO" stamped on the invite. But if the British monarch were to visit the hard-fought for soil of Eire, it would ultimately ignite old tensions all over again. It could have the capacity to plunge the country into an ideological civil war. But then again, we are mature now, we’re not easily led anymore, look at Paisley, he pranced about Dublin without the hint of a protest. In my honest opinion, I think she has to come sometime, but not to commemorate the "Famine Queen” Though time has passed and we are an independent state now, the queen nevertheless must apologise for all her ancestors’ acts of tyranny. Mr McGrath says Queen Victoria, like her great-great granddaughter, is nothing more than a figurehead, but the fact is she is responsible ultimately for all actions taken by the forces who act in the name of the crown. The British armed forces are referred to as the forces of the crown for good reason – the queen is the commander-in-chief. Indeed Queen Elizabeth’s son is the colonel-in-chief of the Parachute Regiment that murdered 14 innocent civilians in Derry in 1972. While the position is ceremonial, he is kept informed of all the regiment’s actions. Mr McGrath says such resentment over a visit by the queen defies logic. What resentment? I am simply voicing an opinion I believe to be shared by the majority of people here ... that Queen Elizabeth should be aware of her obligations to the Irish people, former subjects of the crown.