Students called on politicians to drop the "smile-and-handshake" approach to education issues at a demonstration this morning against student fees.
At the demonstration outside the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Bolton Street, students carried posters with the slogans "feck fees" and "knock, knock".
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They demanded that every party put a commitment to uphold "free fees" in their general election manifesto.
Union of Students in Ireland (USI) president Colm Hamrogue said that politicians were paying lip-service to student issues, and the "smile-and-handshake approach is not good enough anymore".
He added: "We need to keep fees off the agenda . . . every politician agrees fees shouldn't be reintroduced.
"[If this doesn't happen] we'll see students into tens of thousands of euro in debt. If third level fees are introduced, we'll be locking lower socio-economic groups out; they'll be knocking for education. We're young, we're smart and we're the leaders of the next society. They [politicians] need to start listening to us."
Third-level students who do not receive maintenance grants pay an annual student services charge known as a registration fee. The charge, which covers student services and examinations, is on average €800, although this varies between institutions.
Mr Hamrogue also accused the Taoiseach of "disenfranchising students" by proposing the elections take place on a Thursday.
Earlier this month cross-party TDs launched a campaign to "rock the vote" in a bid to encourage young people to use their vote.