Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
IRISH STUDENTS WHO had been studying abroad as part of the EU’s Erasmus programme are still paying rent on their accommodation abroad.
The Erasmus programme is a hugely popular higher education exchange that allows students to study their subject in universities abroad for a semester or an academic year.
This is enabled through the EU’s free movement of people, in order to provide students with the opportunity to experience a global education”.
As the coronavirus hit Europe last month, the Department of Foreign Affairs had been advising Irish citizens to return home as countries closed their borders and airlines grounded flights.
Now, students who followed government advice are still burdened with the financial pressure to pay rent in the country they had been studying in, despite no longer living in that accommodation.
Liam Kennedy, a law student who had been studying at the University of Helsinki in Finland, flew back to Ireland on St Patrick’s Day.
He said that he is still being asked to pay two months’ rent by the company that owns the accommodation he had been staying in, despite the fact that he’s continuing his studies from Ireland.
“I was renting an apartment through a company. I applied for this accommodation through the University of Helsinki. My rent each month is €582 for every 30 days.”
When hr informed the company that he would be returning home to Ireland, and they informed him that he would have to pay the remaining two months’ rent until 31 May, which was worth a total of €1183.40 for Kennedy.
Kennedy said that the company charged some of his friends, who had left the same week as him, €1274.90 the same day they checked out, “without asking for permission or informing them that they would charge this”.
“I only had €22 in my bank account which I needed to pay for my train ticket to the airport, and luckily my bank did not let them charge my account so much.”
Kennedy said that the company also changed its office hours and increased fines for students if they locked their keys in their room.
He said that it’s now €80 during the weekend to have it opened, and if the fire alarm is set off accidentally, the cost has been raised to €1,200.
He said that the company has been told by Erasmus students that they do not have the funds to pay nor did the company have permission to try to charge them.
Many of my friends who went on Erasmus to other countries are also being forced to pay for accommodation we no longer can afford or need.
Ideally, I would like to see that the money paid for accommodation that we cannot use is returned to us as well as our deposit of €500.
Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly has called on the European Commission to clarify what it is doing to alleviate the financial burdens of Erasmus students directly caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said: “We are now hearing that despite Irish students having returned home, many accommodation providers in European universities have refused to offer flexibility on rents payable while academic activities are suspended. This has made things very difficult for Irish students.
“I am raising this issue with the European Commission in the hope that some action, financial or otherwise, can be taken to help students and families who find themselves in this financially challenging position.
Being obliged to pay accommodation costs in another country while academic activities are not going ahead does not seem fair.
“Therefore, I believe a common sense approach must be found by EU Universities to give some flexibility to students at this challenging time for us all,” Kelly said.
Marks for the year and ‘force majeure’
In response to queries from TheJournal.ie last month, a Department of Education spokesperson said that if an Erasmus student had returned to Ireland prior to completion of their semester or year abroad, “the principle of ‘force majeure’ will apply”.
The European Commission definition of force majeure is:
“Any unforeseeable, exceptional situation or event beyond the control of the parties that prevents either of them from fulfilling any of their obligations under the Agreement, which is not attributable to error or negligence on their part or on the part of the subcontractors affiliated entities or third parties in receipt of financial support and which proves to be inevitable despite their exercising due diligence.”
The current problems created by the Covid-19 virus fall under this definition, the Education Department said, adding:
Therefore, students who are on Erasmus+ study or traineeship mobilities will not fail this learning period since the events are outside of their control.
“If a student is unable to complete a mobility, the matter will be resolved by the relevant higher education institution (HEI) which is responsible for the award that the student is pursuing.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
He meant to say he fully expects to see Ireland OUT of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign
Brian kerr destroyed him last night and he was right other managers with better results got left go quicker. 4 competitive wins across 3 campaigns is dreadful and wouldn’t get you out of one campaign let alone 3. Better to leave him go, use the summer to find his replacement and then give them the remaining games to bed in and find a style of play and start fresh for the world cup qualifying campaign. If Kenny stays then the next two years are a write off as it’s more of the same. If he goes at least we will feel like we are building towards something.
@Paddy Up: Not his fault he does not have the players Paddy,
@Mac Dara Powell: we’ll never know unless the manager changes. Lad has only delivered at League of Ireland level, so am unsurprised he’s struggling at this….
@Mac Dara Powell: He will have fewer going forward as 2nd and 3rd generation players will opt for country of birth if the FAI doesn’t appoint A Top Class Manager who will earn the respect the players
Wake up FAI
Why is Kenny not getting the criticism from the Dublin Media that is warranted
@Joe Tone: Because he’s not from Cork or anywhere else outside the pale, you should know that by now.
@Joe Tone: maybe because it’s futile ….what’s to be gained by ramping up critism , stirring the crowd to call for his head , sack the manager , bring in …….., Rinse and repeat …this might surprise you but there’s plenty of critism doing the rounds , but there’s also just a tiny piece of more intelligent analysis in some quarters , the reality of this teams level , the attempt to being through new blood , nobody is saying results are what we would like , but constantly calling for sacking Ireland managers is shallow populist nonsense , let’s get pitch forks that should do the trick !
“If we had won against Greece everything would be great ”
If my grandmother had wheels she would have been a bike .
He needs to go .
@Fergus Jones: yes gino,this is true
The show is over,simply not good enough
Starting to feel a bit sorry for him, seems like an honest bloke.
And lets be honest, when he goes, I doubt there will be a rush of high level clubs after him. It will be back to League of Ireland, earning about a fifth of what he is on now.
They are out at this early stage but let’s call a spade a spade. But Stephen still has a wage to draw from the FAI (tax payers money) and just like the politicians are good at lining their pockets
Brian kerr was shafted as ireland manager, barely missed out in qualifying, kenny making a jokestop of ireland results in last 3yrs but wont be sacked as fai cant afford it, delaney has a lot to ask for
@burrito girl: Not qualifying with the talent he had at his disposal was criminal.
He’s Shïté
“Stephen Kenny – I fully expect to see out all of Euro 2024 qualifying campaign”.
On his salary, of course that is what he would like. But that performance against Greece seemed to be tactically inept.
A lack of competence is surely grounds for ending a contract!
@Nestor: Whether he sees out the campaign or not he still gets the full contract amount.
We’ve no midfield ,only for the Keeper we’d have been hit for 5 ,not a Kenny fan but the team are poor at best
Show me the money
He is starting to sound a bit like Mehole now. Totally delusional.
Am I wrong but did I hear our manager say we still have a good chance of finishing 2nd in our group. Is he delusional or just stupid. What is he watching. The players are poor over all. We all can see that. But sat night was a total disgrace. There was nothing there in the whole 90 min. Kenny was not watching the same game I was. We play Gibraltar. And we are all excited we could beat them. Our schoolboy team would give them a game. 200 places below us. France only beat them 3 nil. I wonder. Glad Stephen thinks he is staying till end of euros. Does it make any difference really. Shambolic all of it. .
A contract is a contract let’s give Kenny and the team, Honesty at least
Even Somalia wouldn’t sign him as second manager.
I expect to win the euro millions, any day now and maybe Vera could do the job?
Fitting celebrities into systems is the challenge for modern, elite managers. The attitude of players, in turn, seems to have changed. It’s hard to quantify, of course, but when Darragh Lenihan, on joining Middlesbrough in 2022, spoke less of hoping to win the league or the Champions League than the Ballon d’Or, it felt like a key moment. Players now ask at least as much what a club can do for them as what they can do for the club –
Kenny to run fr FF in the next GE , his got all the right qualities
Do people think we should be beating Greece away from home? This is the worst crop of players we’ve ever had. We could get someone in to make us play hoofball, hardly ever qualify, and if we do be the laughing stock of Europe again I suppose.
Fair play to him for getting the job as the Irish Coach, mega leap from League of Ireland coaching, but Internationals are a Totally different level. It’s a doomsday scenario for both Kenny and the Team.
All the boo boys can cry all they like, but fact is you could bring in Pep and we would still be terrible, put simply we just don’t have good players, due to lack of investment from both the FAI and government, we are about 20 years behind everyone else.
I might be mad, but see if Big Sam wants the poisoned chalice. We need a manager that knows how to fight their way through a game. Even see if Graham Potter would be up for it.
@Rafa C: I agree. I’ve mentioned Big Sam before and got lambasted for it. I think he’d be a great fit and he’s managed here before so would have some affinity with the place.
Oh no ya won’t !
“We nearly scored” just after each of Greece’s goals? What game was he watching?
I don’t buy into this vicious criticism of Kenny. Dundalk proved that Kenny has motivational skills but he can’t play the match for his players and as usual the players walk away free of all blame. Silly mistakes, lack of concentration, passing, closing down etc etc etc.In general, there is no leadership on the pitch. We can get rid of a manager but what about the prima donnas. Journalists talk about bad performances but run clear of criticism of so called professional players. Club wise, they are good players but most of them have dubious pride in the Irish Jersey. Are Journalists incapable of proper analysis? We can all see the tactics but it’s all about how they are carried out. Kenny does have a system but players don’t play for each other, unlike Jack’s teams or ‘minnows’ like Luxembourg, and they suffer no accountability, like Dave O’Leary or Liam Brady. Maybe if that means replacing some players with LoI players, so be it but leave Kenny to sort it out, We will never be world beaters but we still can perform like Jack’s teams, if the pride comes back.
Nothing wrong with the manager. What we need are players who care more about winning than whether their hair looks good. Ideally you need players who know what to do with the ball when they get it, and players who try to score. Sadly we don’t have any of these. What we have are players who run from the ball and even hide from it or look the other way incase someone passes it to them. It’s not the Managers fault that the players don’t give a s***.
I fully expect to see a blue moon sometime soon.
is he still here
Disappointing coverage by The Journal on these matches. Comon Ireland
have your say