Hi all!

I am Patrick Bonner and I am the Western Area Officer of the Union of Students in Ireland this year.

I am originally from Donegal and for the last three years I have been working at GMIT Students Union. The first year there was spent as Vice President and Welfare Officer, while for the last two years I stepped into the roles of Education Officer and President. I believe that the knowledge I gained during this time will give me the experience needed to carry out the role of USI Western Area Officer effectively.

My role this year is to help all the colleges in the West in any way I can. I intend to spend the year promoting USI on campus through different events and campaigns.

Some of my priorities for the year also include increasing awareness of USI on each campus in the West and improving communication between constituent student unions and USI.

I will also continue to make sure that the threat of the re-introduction of fees will remain off the Government agenda.

I aim to lobby local politicians on the issue of incoming mature students not being eligible to receive both the Back to Education Allowance and the student maintenance grant.

I will also endeavour to make sure that students have better knowledge when it comes to issues such as accommodation and grant entitlements.

Please feel free to contact me for more information about me and my role or our organisation by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .