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<\/p>\nUniversity of Limerick students have been left outraged after hundreds of students were fined for \u201cun-paid fees\u201d, despite many of them saying they were given no warning that they had overdue fines.<\/p>\n
The \u20ac200 fine was implemented to the students yesterday, and has been given to every student who has yet to pay the entirety of their fees.<\/p>\n
Most of the students fined owe as little as \u20ac36, but were still notified that they would face a fine of \u20ac200.<\/p>\n
The \u20ac36 in question is for a \u201clevy\u201d which has been put in place to fund the new Student Life Centre which is estimated to be built by the year 2020.<\/p>\n
This is the first year that the levy has been put in place and due to a severe lack of information, many students were un-aware they had to pay it.<\/p>\n
Megan Ryan, a third year Science Education student was notified today that she had been fined.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no idea I had outstanding fees, I\u2019ve no clue where they came from.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t get any email notifying me I had to pay, if I did I would have paid it,\u201d said Megan.<\/p>\n
Chelsie Graham Moloney, a second year Politics and Public Administration student says she wasn\u2019t aware she had even been fined until she received a text from one of her friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got no emails from anyone- I just heard from my friend. I didn\u2019t even know about the \u20ac36 for the student centre which I\u2019m literally not paying anyway,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got the \u20ac200 fine and the \u20ac36 fine out of nowhere, I literally never knew anything about it before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chelsie says that she has no intention of paying the fine, or the \u20ac36 levy for the new student centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe \u20ac36 is a load of b*llocks, I\u2019m still not paying for something that won\u2019t be built until I\u2019m after leaving UL,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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Megan Thornton, a second year Journalism and New Media student also received the fine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was fined \u20ac200 and then like the \u20ac36 is still there so that’s in my balance, I don’t know when I was charged.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no email notice at all, I literally saw nothing I was told through a group chat from other people. The last email I have regarding fees is from the 23rd of October 2017, which mentions nothing about the levy and didn’t mention how it wasn’t covered by SUSI and that’s the case with a lot of people I know too,\u201d said Megan.<\/p>\n
Megan has been left in shock regarding the notice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven’t been told why I had to pay it by anyone official and checking now, it says \u2018EU Student Centre levy\u2019 which I wasn’t aware of and didn’t know what it was about. I don’t know what to do right now it’s just a shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I should have to pay the levy and have no problem doing so, but as for the fee no, because we got no official contact from the fees office or the university at all about outstanding levies despite my one from last semester being so overdue, it was literally a case of not being notified,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Megan says that if she had been made aware of the levy beforehand, she would have had no problem paying, but like many of the students affected, she thought that SUSI was covering the fee.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course if I had known, I would have paid the levy but I thought SUSI covered all my fees.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they should have notified students officially about the levy so I don’t think it is fair really on students who would have paid if they had known,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Roberta Harrington, the Welfare Officer for the University of Limerick Students\u2019 Union (ULSU) has given the following statement regarding the fine:<\/p>\n
\u201cIn response to the numerous messages and emails we have received on the fee fines, we having been corresponding with senior management, fees office and the communications department all morning trying to get the best possible outcome for students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are aware that there was an appalling lack of communication by the fees office to students around fees owing, and we have highlighted this with senior management,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents now have until Friday April 20th to pay their outstanding fees (the \u20ac36 student levy for the student centre and sports facilities, as well as outstanding academic fees).<\/p>\n
T\u201dhis excludes the \u20ac200 fine. For example: if you owe \u20ac236 at current, pay the \u20ac36 and the \u20ac200 will be revoked. Students in receipt of the SUSI grant also need to pay the \u20ac36 as this is not covered by SUSI,\u201d Roberta explained.<\/p>\n
The University of Limerick have also released a statement in response to the outrage caused by this fine.<\/p>\n
\u201cUniversity of Limerick regrets causing concern to some of it\u2019s students who this week have received notification of a \u20ac200 late payment of fees fine.\u00a0\u00a0 The fine has arisen due to the non-payment of fees and in some cases the amounts unpaid are very small e.g. the non-payment of the new UL Student levy of \u20ac18 per semester.<\/p>\n
\u201cUL accepts students were not sufficiently informed of a clear deadline for payment of the UL Student Levy and has agreed with the President of the ULSU to move the deadline for payment of the levy and outstanding academic fees by a month to April 20th.\u00a0 UL and ULSU wish to reassure students that as long as all outstanding fees are paid by 20th April the fine will be removed from their individual accounts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn April 2016 UL students voted 78.75% in favour of the introduction of a staggered levy towards the build of a new student centre and sports facilities,\u201d said Sheena Doyle Communications Manager for the University of Limerick.<\/p>\n
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