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Students paying €3,500 despite closed universities

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EXCLUSIVE

By Sean Moriarty

Parents of university going children are up in arms with on-campus accommodation providers who are charging for full terms despite universities being closed. Thousands of students have not attended physical university lectures since Christmas. More have not attended colleges since last October.

Accommodation providers are still charging parents for facilities that are not being used.

The situation only applies to first year students who had to pre-pay for accommodation for the first term between September and January.

Second term rates are now payable to ensure student accommodation from now until May or June.

Parents who have already paid over €3,500 for on-campus between September and January are now expected to fork out the same amount for the rest of the school year despite students not attending the school.

Local councillor Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan is one of many parents affected. He is son is a student at the University of Limerick but has not been on campus since last October.

The councillor now faces a €3,700 bill to cover the remainder of the year despite the fact the university is closed and there is no immediate evidence on when they might reopen.

“I have taken this up with the university but they say it's not their problem as they sub-contract their student letting,” he told the Killarney Advertiser. “That is not right and they know it. They need to return this money to families. I know one local man who has two sons in college – he has been caught for €3,500 twice. Every day we see Higher Education Minister Simon Harris spouting about other departments but he does not want to do anything about this and this is his department."

Cllr O’Callaghan is going to raise the issue at the next meeting of Kerry County Council in an effort to force the issue onto the national agenda.

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Contactless payments launched on Local Link services

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Passengers using TFI Local Link Kerry services in Killarney and across the county can now pay for their journeys using contactless card payments.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) confirmed the rollout this week, allowing commuters to simply tap their debit card, credit card, or mobile devices, such as Apple Pay and Google Pa, when boarding.

The move is designed to offer more convenience for those using high-frequency rural and regional routes.

In Killarney, the new payment option will be available on the TFI Anseo town services, which have seen a significant increase in passenger numbers since their introduction.

The contactless system is currently available for single journey fares, while those using daily or weekly passes can continue to use the Leap website or the TFI Leap Top Up App.
Alan O’Connell, General Manager of TFI Local Link Kerry, welcomed the modernisation of the fleet.

“The introduction of contactless payments is another welcome step forward for public transport in Kerry,” he said. “It complements other major projects in the county, including the expansion of TFI Local Link services and the delivery of TFI Anseo in Killarney, which is proving to be another great initiative.”

While the new technology offers a modern alternative, traditional payment methods are not being phased out. Cash payments, TFI Leap cards, and Free Travel Cards all remains fully valid across the network.

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How will our Kerry TDs vote tomorrow?

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Tomorrow, Sinn Féin will be tabling a motion of no confidence against the Government after the protests that took place nationwide during the week.

Earlier today we asked our readers how would they vote in a no confidence motion against the Government?

Most of our readers said they would vote no confidence, while some said, yes they do have confidence in the Government.

One reader said: “Vote confidence. The only proper leadership over the last few days came from government. Courage came when needed despite how unpopular it looked in the moment. By contrast, opposition politicians wanted the country to burn to suit themselves”.

Another reader stated: “No confidence. Shambolic and heavy handed handling of protests this past week”.

However, some people didn’t have any confidence in either side with a reader saying: “No confidence in the no confidence! Different wings of the same bird! We need a complete overhaul of the political system”.

We asked the question to our 5 Kerry TDs before lunch-time today, asking them what their vote will be tomorrow.

We received one reply from Sinn Féin’s Kerry TD Pa Daly.

He will be voting no confidence in the Government tomorrow along with his party.

Other media outlets are reporting that Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae is undecided at the moment.

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