Independent TD Carol Nolan has said the third level student accommodation crisis has transformed the college experience into a ‘daily commuter drudge characterised by massive expense and precarious legal rights’ for thousands of young people throughout the state.
Deputy Nolan went on to say that indicators from the most recent Eurostudent report, published by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which surveyed more than 21,000 students about their social and living conditions, should have raised alarm bells within Government about the depth and scale of the accommodation affordability and access problems that have been ongoing since 2019:
“I have been making the point for some time now that there is a real danger around third level education becoming deeply exclusionary and the preserve of high-income families,” the Laois Offaly TD said.
“Unfortunately, despite all the talk we hear of increased grants and student supports almost nothing has been done to fundamentally address the accommodation crisis, which in turn is creating enormous expense and stress for students and families. We also know that even in situations where students can acquire digs, the legal rights are far from robust and many students simply have to accept what they are given regardless of the cost.”
The Independent TD who also sits as a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, went on to say that the accommodation crisis is wiping out some positive measures that she has campaigned on such as the need to increase the student earnings threshold and the impact this has on grant applications:
“I have previously welcomed the decision to increase the Holiday Earnings, that is, the amount a student can earn outside term time, from €6,552 to €7,925, but even the benefit of this measure is being annihilated due to the consistent rise in rent and living expenses.”
“If we are serious about retaining our students and not forcing them to the UK or elsewhere then Government has to demonstrate a seriousness about this crisis that has been spectacularly absent to date,” Deputy Nolan said.
Over 250,000 students are expected to return to college this year, with over 100,000 living in the private rental market, as previously indicated by 2023 figures.
The Union of Students in Ireland has called for the state’s budget surplus to be used to assist students struggling to pay for accomodation and fees.