page_title: Anti-austerity movement in Ireland
section_title: Student actions
hierarchical_section_title: Anti-austerity movement in Ireland / 2011 / Student actions
caption_attribution_description: English: Occupiers Camp on Dame Street, Dublin, 19th of December 2011
context_page_description: The anti-austerity movement in Ireland saw major demonstrations from 2008 to 2015.
  The protests began during October 2008 after the Fianna Fáil–Green Party coalition of the 30th Dáil oversaw the implementation of the bank guarantee, and were given further impetus by the late 2010 intervention of the European Union/European Central Bank/International Monetary Fund troika and the collapse of that government early the following year. Protests continued during the Fine Gael–Labour coalition of the 31st Dáil.
context_section_description: As the year went on students became increasingly concerned about the honesty and integrity of the pledge signed by Ruairi Quinn before the election that the Labour Party would oppose increased tuition fees.
  On 16 November 2011, thousands of students, their parents and families marched on Government Buildings amid concerns about the reintroduction of third-level fees. A small group also engaged in a sit-down protest outside the Fine Gael office on Dublin's Upper Mount Street.
  At around 4 pm on 29 November 2011, three student union presidents (of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, University College Cork and IT Carlow) under the leadership of Union of Students in Ireland (USI) President Gary Redmond occupied a room at Department of Social Protection on Dublin's Store Street as part of a continued effort to have the Labour Party clarify its position on tuition fees. Police broke down the door of the room in which they were stationed and led them away. The students came armed with a chemical toilet and supplies of food that could have lasted them weeks. Ten student union presidents also attempted to occupy a room at the Department of Enterprise on Kildare Street for the same reasons.
  Nine FEE students, also seeking clarification on the government's view on third-level fees, participated in a peaceful sit-down protest by occupying the constituency office of Fine Gael TD and former mayor Brian Walsh in Bohermore, Galway, around midday on 30 November 2011. They unfurled a banner on the roof with the message, "FREE EDUCATION NOTHING LESS". They were arrested by the police and released a short time later.
  On 2 December 2011, eight students from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM), including the university's student union president Rob Munnelly, began occupying the Naas constituency office of Fine Gael TD Anthony Lawlor. They did so with sleeping bags, clothes, a chemical toilet and a week's supply of food and were supported by other students on Facebook and Twitter. During the occupation Munnelly debated with Lawlor live on Kildare TV, USI President Gary Redmond visited the revolting students and a banner with the slogan "SAVE THE GRANT" was erected at Lawlor's entrance.
caption: Tent Town on Dame Street
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