The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) seems set for a deadlocked annual congress in Easter week. It seems likely that factions in the union will table constitutional amendments directly opposed to each other. Union sources say it is possible neither side will be able to muster the two-thirds majority needed for constitutional change.
USI campaigns officer Ronan Emmet says he will table an amendment to abolish a number of part-time officerships at the Westport, Co Mayo, congress. Last year, congress voted to downgrade two previously full-time posts - for women's rights and lesbian, gay and bisexual rights - to part-time, unpaid posts. Emmet's motion would not only completely abolish those two positions, it would also eliminate the part-times posts devoted to the Irish language, the environment and disability. "Issues such as gay rights, disability and the environment are important of course, but other organisations such as ENFO and AHEAD are better able to deal with them. There's no reason the welfare officer of the union can't deal with issues related to women's rights and gay rights. USI is essentially an educational trade union." Emmet describes the Easter week gathering as a "make or break congress" for the union. The USI's welfare, women's rights and lesbian, gay and bisexual rights officers are likely to lead a group seeking to restore the last two positions to fulltime, paid status.
Colleagues of the lesbian, gay and bisexual officer, Orla Richardson, say she has had difficulty visiting certain campuses because of new expense procedures which require the signature of a students' union officer from the campus which a USI officer hopes to visit. It is believed Richardson has been unable to visit an institute of technology campus, despite a request for her help from a student, because the local students' union president was against her visit.
Emmet says the expense procedures are necessary if union money is not to be wasted. Emmet said his comments on the issue did not refer to Richardson, whose work he praised.
The proposed abolition of the part-time positions was one of the central elements to the Tallaght IT case for Dermot Lohan to be dismissed. The month's notice on Tallaght's motion for Lohan's dismissal ran out on Saturday. It is now up to the Tallaght union to gather the support of four other students' union presidents in order to call a special national congress to discuss Lohan's dismissal - a meeting which would only require five days' notice. A two-thirds majority could dismiss Lohan; he would have a right to appeal, which would probably be heard at the congress in Westport.
Tallaght sources insist they have not lost their appetite for the dismissal hearing and that they will have no difficulty getting the signatures needed to call the special national council.
At present, it seems unlikely any compromise candidate will emerge for the presidency. Nominations for the union's sabbatical positions opened last Monday, but at the end of the week, no one had been nominated. Three likely candidates contacted by E&L refused to rule themselves out of the running but all declared that they were "fed up" with the in-fighting in USI, and said it could be the sole reason for their not running.
