Pedestrian access to the Department of Education and skills on Marlborough Street in Dublin has been cut off due to a group of students holding a ‘surprise conference’ on the grounds.
A group of around 50 students entered the grounds at around 10am and erected a large tent, which they are still occupying. There are discussions and film screenings under way inside the tent.
Gardai said they were aware of a "peaceful protest" but that no problems or disturbances had been reported.
The conference is expected to conclude at around 5pm. It had been initially planned that the event would continue overnight, but this has been cancelled due to the extreme weather conditions in Dublin.
The majority of students come from Dublin's National College of Art and Design, but it is believed there are also students from the Dublin Institute of Technology and Trinity College Dublin. The protest is not organised through any students union, and is not associated with the Union of Students in Ireland (USI).
A spokesperson for the group said that the conference had been planned by disillusioned individuals following the recent student marches in Dublin.
"A group of us got together and we decided that we wanted something that would be a lot more proactive than a simple protest. We wanted to get a genuine debate going instead of saying 'no, no!' we're saying 'why' and 'what are the alternatives'."
A manifesto issued by the group said "We feel that the current education system is expensive and inefficient, and rather than simply making financial cuts we should make long term structural changes".
A spokesman for the Department of Education said any findings from the surprise conference would be "gratefully received", but that the USI remains the main group that the department liaises with.
The Government has faced strong opposition to plans to hike the student registration fee to €2,000, a move seen by opponents as fees by the back door.
