UCD Students’ Union has released a statement criticising Budget 2025, describing it as “another example of government smoke and mirrors”. The University Observer News Team break down Budget 2025, how it affects students, and the national reaction.
At 3pm on Wednesday October 2, UCD Students’ Union released a statement criticising Budget 2025, describing it as “another example of government smoke and mirrors”. The statement from the Union comes one day after Government Minister for Finance Jack Chambers and Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe unveiled the budget package for 2025.
SU President Miranda Bauer stated that “Students need a New Deal, not more half-measures wrapped in election spin”, whilst claiming the new measures were “full of empty promises.”
With multiple once-off payments and changes to tax rates introduced, The University Observer has compiled the key measures likely to affect students in the short and long-term future.
Student Contribution Charge
Budget 2025 will provide students with a temporary €1000 reduction to the student contribution charge. The budget has also seen a once-off €1000 reduction to the apprentice contribution fee, while Postgraduate student grant recipients will see the government fee contributions increase from €4000 to €5000.
The student contribution charge is the level of college fees not covered by the government, and was originally reduced by the €1000 figure in a once-off response to COVID-19. The measure has since been extended on a yearly basis.
Prior to the release of the budget, UCDSU had recommended an abolishment of the student contribution charge and called on the government to fill the €300 million funding gap in higher education, which they state is “a burden to students and their families”. UCDSU also referred to the “exorbitant prices” International students must pay, stating that the Government should fill the funding gap “to end the exploitation of international students”.
The Postgraduate Workers Organisation’s (PWO) request for the PhD stipend to be raised to €28,000 was supported by the UCDSU’s pre-budget submission, to “ensure that all PhD students receive a living wage”.
On Tuesday, Minister Donohoe announced a “continued reduction” of the Student Contribution Charge (SCC) by €1,000, which UCDSU President Miranda Bauer has stated “won’t do nearly enough for nearly enough students.”
Furthermore, the SU statement argued that the €1,000 reduction was “more symbolic than substantive”, and went on to claim that through renters’ credits and energy supports, Budget 2025 reflects “a broader pattern of election-focused optics rather than real solutions.”
Sinn Féin TD and spokesperson on Further and Higher Education Mairéad Farrell called the budget a “damp squib” for students, saying that the Government should have followed a roadmap similar to Sinn Féin’s alternative budget. “Our budget outlined a €1,500 reduction this year, which would be the first step toward elimination it [sic] over the next few years.”
The increase in the Postgraduate Tuition fee contribution by one thousand euro failed to meet the requests of the PWO and UCDSU, with the average PhD researcher earning €18,500 a year, according to a government report.
Minimum Wage
In the budget, Minister Chambers announced an 80 cent increase in the national minimum wage for those aged 20 and above, which will rise from €12.70 to €13.50 from 1 January 2025. The sub national minimum wage was increased in line with the change in the national minimum wage, for 19 year olds it will stand at €12.15, for 18 year olds €10.80, and for under 18 it will be €9.45, all effective from 1 January 2025.
Within their pre-Budget submission, UCDSU included a proposal to redefine minimum wage as a “new living wage”, calling for a living wage totalling €14.80, a €2.10 increase on the current minimum. They further proposed the removal of wage bands which are applied to different age groups, stating that “the same wages are needed for the same work, and should not depend on age.”
With the Government’s measure to bring the national minimum to €13.50 in January 2025, UCDSU said that the new increase “falls short of the living wage students and young workers desperately need.”
Health
Minister Chambers announced an increase in excise duty on a packet of 20 cigarettes by €1, bringing the price in the most popular bracket to €18.05. The Minister said this measure ''supports public health policy to reduce smoking levels in Irish society''. A new domestic tax on e-cigarettes will see the price of a disposable vape containing 2 ml of liquid increase from €8 to €9.23 under the new provisions. This e-Cigarette tax will come into effect in the middle of 2025. The cigarette price increase came into effect at midnight on Tuesday.
CEO of AsIAm Adam Harris, a charity to support the autistic community in Ireland, said that “perspective is missing” from Budget 2025. Measures introduced in the newly published budget “fall short on the long-term focus for the autistic and disabled community”, they said.
Student accommodation
Prior to the release of Budget 2025, UCDSU called for “immediate and significant government intervention and state-funding to deliver affordable accommodation on or near college campuses, and at a price that students can genuinely afford.” Their pre-budget submission also made clear that digs/homestay accommodation cannot solve the student housing crisis, especially without legislation and regulation.
UCDSU claims Budget 2025 did not adequately address the student housing crisis, calling this a “major oversight that undermines the Government’s stated goals of setting the country up for long-term success.” UCDSU president Miranda Bauer said Budget 2025 was “full of empty promises” that leave students in “unsafe, overpriced, and inaccessible accommodation.”
Executive Director of Simon Community Ireland Wayne Stanley says Budget 2025 overlooks the issue of housing and homelessness as a whole. He said “It's extraordinary that so much money was expended and so little done for people in homelessness.”
Sinn Fein Minister Mairéad Farrell echoed this and was equally disappointed in the lack of answers to the accommodation crisis. While Budget 2025 allocated €100 million to student housing projects over the next three years, Minister Farrell says this can’t keep up with the student population. Minister Farrell said “in terms of the student accommodation crisis, which continues to go from bad to worse, the Government just aren't at the races.”
Reform of the SUSI scheme
UCDSU proposed a reform of the SUSI scheme, including an increase of the income bands, threshold and payment rates, while facilitating the access for a broader range of students.
“Of particular relevance is enabling Graduate Entry Medicine, Graduate Entry Radiography and Graduate Entry Veterinary to access SUSI support.”
In their Pre-Budget Submission, UCDSU quotes Denmark’s approach for student finance as an example. Their programme provides monthly stipends, combined with tuition-free education for Danish and EU/EEA students at the public universities.
Contributing Writers: Oisín Gaffey, Lucy Warmington, Adam Behan, Adam Schmitz, Ella Ruddle, Joshua McCormack, Jamie Starr Bourke, Méabh Ní Lionáin, Nicoleta-Letitia Vremea, Eoin Gilligan and Niall Dillon