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The College Tribune
April 20th 2010
The Difference is we’re independent
Issue 12 Volume 23
Sleep-out leads to rent freeze l UCD agrees not to increase rent
l Accommodation still most expensive
Karina Bracken A number of UCD students took to sleeping outside the main gate last week to protest against the price of accommodation on campus. Just before the protest the University agreed to freeze the price of rents for next year. Tents were set up on a grass verge at the main entrance to Belfield at the N11 flyover last Tuesday 13th of April at 9pm. The sleep-out ended at 9am the following Wednesday morning. “We’re sending a message to the university authorities that we will not tolerate their ludicrous policy of increasing campus rents annually, especially in this economic climate,” said UCD Students’ Union President Gary Redmond. In light of the University’s decision not to go ahead with the planned increase, Redmond stated: “This is a step in the right direction - the university now understands the grave financial issues facing students and is making moves to easing the burden of paying rent.” The cost of renting in campus residences has risen over the last few years and has failed to decrease in line with dropping rents across Dublin and the rest of the country. A report last year showed that UCD has one of the highest student accommodation costs in Ireland. “The latest reports from Daft.ie show that rents in the Dublin 4 and 14 areas - bordering Belfield - are dropping considerably, yet UCD continues to hike its campus rent. It’s just baffling,” says UCDSU Campaigns Officer Paddy Ryan. UCD’s en-suite accommodation is the most expensive at €400 more than Trinity Halls and €1,110 more than DCU’s
Residences. The University of Limerick and NUI Maynooth have previously announced a rent freeze for 2010/11. The Union is also against UCD’s “inconsistent approach to charging students for residences utilities.” They disagree with the diverse methods used for different
residences as some have to pay per usage, while other charge a flat fee and offer no refund if less utilities than paid for are used. UCD has conceded slightly on the issue, agreeing to stagger the amount of utilities payments throughout the academic year.
Drunk driver jailed for injuring UCD student
l l
Gubnet McDonagh A man who knocked down and injured a UCD student while drunk driving has been jailed for three years. Oliver Dunne (32) received the sentence at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last week with the final eighteen months suspended. UCD student Cian McGovern was injured after Dunne hit him with his car on November 29th 2008. The student was left with a permanent knee injury which ended his ambitions of playing Gaelic football. During the trial the court was told that Dunne
“Living on campus is a vital part of the student experience, but UCD is making it more and more difficult for students to afford to live on campus,” says UCD Students’ Union Welfare Officer Scott Ahearn. “The university is trying to rip off students and we aren’t going to stand for
it any longer.” UCD furthermore agreed to waive the €27 credit card charge when paying for accommodation. The sleep-out went ahead as the University has yet to agree to the introduction of a monthly rent scheme.
Student’s GAA ambitions quashed Driver had extenuating circumstances had been thrown out of his home due to marriage difficulties and had planned to sleep in his car the night he hit McGovern. Suffering from depression, Dunne had just been released from St Patrick’s Hospital, where he had been for three-months, when he drove intoxicated on alcohol and antidepressants. The student was standing on Dawson Street with a group of friends trying to flag a taxi when Dunne made an illegal right turn at speed onto the road and knocked him down. Witnesses saw McGovern being thrown onto the car’s bonnet before rolling to the ground. Dunne was later arrested after crashing his car into a wall at Ely Place. He refused to give a
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breath sample, however Gardaí on duty said he admitted to being drunk and explained he had done “a terrible thing”. Dunne pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop, injuring McGovern and refusing to give a breath test at Harcourt Garda Station on the night in question. Judge Katherine Delahunt described the incident as “an appalling series of events”, fining Dunne €1,000 and disqualifying him from driving for two years. UCD student McGovern had been a keen GAA football player with hopes of getting on the Cavan under-21 team before the knee injury, which required two operations.