Galway Mayo Institute of Technology has made a commitment to art students at its Cluain Mhuire campus that it will update and improve facilities by Friday 14 December.

Art students at the campus had planned to hold a protest today over conditions at the campus.

A student at the institute told the Galway Independent that students at the art college, which offers a Bachelors of Arts in Art and Design in Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture, Textiles and Ceramics and Painting, were increasingly frustrated that they are not supplied with basics such as paper and paint materials. The students pay €100 for materials at the start of the year.

The student said that there was often no ink or paper in printers, while students have to pay for paint, sketch pads and other materials required for the course. She said that students had to make the 15-minute walk to the main campus to get their material printed.

Cluain Mhuire does not have a dedicated IT support and students have to contact the main college to get someone down to change cartridges and paper at Cluain Mhuire. While this system worked in the past, the IT people were not in a position to service Cluain Mhuire and found it very frustrating, she felt. Students are also understood to have had issues with the maintenance and supply of digital and multimedia equipment.

However, it emerged the strike was never sanctioned by the Students' Union, who were working behind the scenes with the Institute to work on the issues that had been raised.

A spokesperson for the Students' Union said that they had met with the institute yesterday morning, Tuesday, and had received a commitment that the issues would be dealt with by 14 December.

A spokesperson for the college said: 'GMIT management have met with students and have addressed their concerns. A timeframe has been agreed in which they will be implemented. The GMIT respects the right of students to protest," she said.

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