It has been claimed that Ireland will have the highest university fees in the European Union after Brexit.

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) held a lunchtime protest on Thursday at the front square of Trinity College Dublin, over what it said were "serious concerns" over the future of higher education.

It has called on the Government to respond to "the growing crisis in higher education funding."

It has said that a "continued delay in addressing the deficit in third-level funding is not acceptable."

In a joint statement, the Coalition for Publicly Funded Education said: "Government has long since acceded to the fact that higher education in Ireland is chronically under-funded.

"The Department of Education and Skills has accepted the findings of the detailed analysis of the scale of the funding deficit that was carried out by various expert groups on their behalf.

"If urgent action is not taken, there's a real risk that today's seven and eight-year old primary school students will not have sufficient college places available to them in 2030 when the demographic bulge peaks with an additional 40,000 students seeking to access third level."

USI president Síona Cahill said: "Currently, the annual Student Contribution Charge stands at a staggering €3,000, between the years 2007-2014 this increased by a whopping 363%.

"The sobering facts for students today is that at €3,000, Ireland will have the highest fees in the EU after Brexit."

She also said SUSI grants have not increased for students in line with the cost of living.

Chair of the education division for Fórsa, Gina O'Brien, said: "Staff and students from colleges all across Ireland are coming together in their institutions to demand increased funding for the third level sector.

"We are calling on the Government to address the funding issue in third level that it has ignored for consecutive years."

"While we would obviously welcome previous increases in funding to the sector they fall far short of what is needed to address the crisis in the sector."

And Frank Jones, deputy general-secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has called for a review of current Government funding policies.

Main image: USI president Síona Cahill in 2018 | Image: USI