A compromise was struck between three State agencies this week (August 21 ) when the High Court allowed 21 students return to their studies in Athlone.
On August 2 Athlone Institute of Technology announced it was cancelling its four-year BSc in audiology after just one year.
This came about after the British Association of Audiology refused to accredit the course following advice from the Health Service Executive (HSE ) concerning clinical placements for students.
Following this, the Higher Education Authority (HEA ) refused to fund the course, and its subsequent cancellation by AIT led two of the students - Megan Munnelly (19 ), from Sligo, and Diarmuid O’Connor (22 ), from Cork - to take an action against the three bodies - AIT, the HSE, and the HEA - to the High Court to rescue their truncated education.
Describing the decision to cancel the course after just one year as “a fiasco”, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan asked the three bodies on Tuesday if they could come to a solution, which, behind closed doors on Wednesday, they did.
“AIT appreciates that the HSE has agreed to provide 12 placements for the students, which coupled with other placements will enable the remaining students to complete the integral clinical aspect of the programme. The institute also acknowledges the support of the HEA in agreeing to fund the programme,” said a spokesperson for the college.
The agreed solution will enable the students, who successfully completed the first year of the programme, graduate with a BSc (Honours ) in Audiology from AIT.
“We are delighted that these students will be able to complete their studies in audiology with us. It was always our intention to support the students, and we are very pleased for them that this agreement has been reached,” said president of AIT, Professor Ciarán Ó Catháin.
“We definitely feel vindicated in taking the action,” said Mr O’Connor outside the High Court after proceedings had been brought to their satisfactory conclusion.
Ms Munnelly had said in an affidavit the cancellation of the course has had “a terrible effect” on her.
She has been “under extreme stress” about where she will end up in September.
“I don’t know whether I will be studying in Ireland or England, or what I will be studying,” she said.
She said unless their action was successful the students would “suffer financial and emotional damage” and “nobody will be held to account for this fiasco”.
