More than 70 per cent of Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM) students in University College, Dublin are withholding fees in protest over further fee increases and disruptions to learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Fees have increased year-on-year since 2017 for such students and now stand at €16,290 for Irish students and €55,140 for non-EU students, representing an increase of €1,000 and €3,000 respectively since 2017. Although only graduates are eligible, it is equivalent in standard to the undergraduate Medicine degree. UCD Students’ Union president Conor Anderson hopes the protest will prompt “a major change” by UCD. The problems facing GEM students are shared by students in other disciplines, he said.

Source: The Irish Times October 31, 2020 00:56 UTC