Lectures and laboratory sessions at Trinity College were cancelled on November 24, and there was no access for students to the Library, Sport Centre, Catering Service, ISS Helpdesk or administrative services. A ban on overnight guest arrangements on Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 November was issued to residents by the Registrar of Chambers, Dr Emma Stokes.

However, students entering the college were able to cross the picket line unhindered, and the 24-hour computer room remained open. Essential student services such as College Health and Student Counselling also remained open for “cases requiring urgent assistance”,     

Trinity College Chief Operating Officer Tony McMahon explained that the college remained closed following professional advice that the risk to health and safety would, in the circumstances, be "unacceptably high".

Buildings and services at University College Dublin (UCD) remained open, however, in spite of a picket line of staff members protesting outside the college. Students were able to gain access to the campus without interference.

At University College Cork (UCC), plans for industrial action were scuppered when floods wreaked havoc with lecture halls and student houses after the river Lee burst its banks.

The public sector day of industrial action was fully supported by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). President Peter Mannion had urged students to join the strikes organised around the country and warned that cuts would be "a further stifle to the recovery of the economy".

"The USI represents 250,000 students nationwide... Our students will be tomorrow’s graduates and any changes in pay or working conditions in the public sector will directly affect them in years to come,” Mr Mannion said.

Mike Jennings, general secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) said that "singling out teachers and public sector workers is unacceptable". He said that an alternative approach to economic recovery must be adopted "to ensure the burden is shared fairly”. (Source: Trinity News)