Students from across the country protest in Dublin over education cuts.
Two thousand students take part in a demonstration march on O'Connell Street protesting at cuts to the education budget. The rally was the culmination of three days of student action around the country.
The students came from all over the country to protest against cuts at every level of education.
Lectures were boycotted and pickets were placed in some colleges. Student leaders addressing the rally said that when they meet the Minister for Education next Monday, they will tell her that the cuts have affected the worst off.
If the cuts are not addressed, protesters will continue to oppose them with more serious action. Organisers of the event had hoped that more students would have joined the protest but blamed organisational difficulties for the low turnout. Addressing the crowd, the leaders called for more college places and more grants. The government maintains that the recession has forced cutbacks across all areas.
Among the speakers at the rally was Joe Duffy USI Education Officer. The President of the National Union of Students of Ireland (USI) Brendan Doris disputes the case set forth by the government. He says that the issue is what the government is doing with the money, that there is lack of political will to invest money in education.
The government is running the country in the interests of a small group of rich people and not in the interests of the people of the country.
Traffic across the city was interrupted by the rally and the Dublin City Centre Business Association telegrammed the Taoiseach calling for a ban on demonstrations from the city centre. Traders claim that these protests cause a fall in business thereby threatening jobs. Mr Brabazon of the traders' association said that people have a right to protest but he would prefer if these protests took place in an area other than the city centre.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 3 February 1983. The reporter is Caroline Erskine.
