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    “The thought of being homeless again is terrifying, it gives me nightmares”: Students struggle for college accommodation

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    By Ava Liange After two consecutive years of COVID-19, online learning and postponed exams, the housing crisis is once again the main obstacle that prevents students from pursuing their studies. With the start of the new academic year just around the corner, it is becoming increasingly challenging for students to find accommodation near universities. Many are confronted with the choice of commuting several hours a day to access their course, paying extortionate rent for on-campus accommodation, or turning to unregulated ‘digs’ accommodation. Faced with these choices, sacrifices on affordability and living conditions are often made. “We’ve had to deal with mould and rodents”, Jamie Clarke, an Atlantic Technological University (ATU) student, explained to Village Magazine. “[Our landlord] said he’d paint the house with anti-mould paint and call in an exterminator, but they never came back to check in and it didn’t work so we had to deal with it ourselves”. The housing crisis has become a great source of anxiety for students “Every summer it’s like a déjà vu all over again as we wonder just how much worse matters can get”, says Molly Greenough, President of the Students’ Union at University College Dublin (UCD), following the release of their latest Accommodation Report. According to the new figures, around two-thirds of students pay up to €750 a month for student accommodation, considerably higher than a national average of €469 cited in a recent Higher Education Authority study. “The acute shortage of beds is starting to have a seriously worrying impact on the pursuit of education”, continued Greenough, with the report highlighting how many students are forced into the private rental market where they pay market rates and compete with working professionals. Due to inflationary pressures on the rental market and a lack of options for on-campus accommodation, more and more students are drawn to ‘digs’, where students rent a room in a house where the landlord lives. While often times cheaper than the alternative, these arrangements leave the students with very few rights. ‘Digs’ don’t fall under the remit of the Residential Tenancies Board meaning there are no minimum physical standards that the property must comply with and the restrictions on rent increases for other private rented accommodation do not apply. Students have reported being denied access to facilities or certain areas of the house, landlords invading their privacy by entering their room unannounced or when they aren’t there, and being hit with unnotified rent increases. One student living in ‘digs’ last year described the experience as being treated like a burden rather than a person, while others said they felt “infantilised”. The impact of this search for accommodation can be draining on students’ mental health. “There’s just a period of time when you’re searching for a house, and you’re losing time you could use doing assignments”, says Jamie. “It definitely affects your energy levels and how you’re able to focus on things”, he continues. On top of affecting their studies, the housing crisis has become a source of anxiety for students. “The thought of being homeless again is terrifying”, says Brigid MacBrough, another student from ATU, “it gives me nightmares”. Students who have to commute spend a large amount of time and money each day and find themselves exposed to anxiety as well, “The last year of college I tried to find accommodation, but I couldn’t so I had to commute for three hours a day”, says Dawid Blasevac, a former student. “I hated it, that on top of stressing about finishing the course and the stress of finding a job after. I did feel incredibly garbage after each day”. Many students are forced into the private rental market where they pay market rates and compete with working professionals There seems little sign of improvement either, according to Aiobhe O’Brien, Welfare Officer at the University College of Cork. This crisis is a burden “for students at any given year”, she explains. “It is becoming an increasing problem because nothing is changing, it’s getting worse on the number of rooms but also on how much they’re charging per room…there are so many scams, landlords say they’re out of the country and just ask for the money”. The lack of options leaves some students wondering whether they would be better served going abroad to study. Brigid is one student who has concerns about continuing with her studies. While thinking of doing a master’s in Dublin she “considered going abroad because the cost of living as a whole would still be cheaper”. With the housing crisis having reached a point where students have to choose whether they want to move abroad to pursue their studies or do so in Ireland at an excruciating price, it’s clear that something has to change soon before Ireland loses another generation of young people to emigration.

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    Councillor’s son found double-dipping in rental market

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    By Conor O’Carroll The son of a Sligo County Councillor and former Cathaoirleach has been found advertising a property on Daft.ie to students during the week and to tourists on Airbnb during the weekend. James Clarke, son of Independent Councillor Michael Clarke, advertised the property last week on both sites before quickly removing the listings as it began to attract interest online. The advertisement features one room with three bunk beds and another with two bunk beds, with two further rooms with double beds bringing the total capacity to between 12-14 students. For €400 each per month, the students would be required to vacate the house at 12pm every Friday to make way for the Airbnb bookings, before being permitted to return to the property at 4pm on Sundays. Village confirmed that the property did not have planning permission by geo-locating the property from images online and cross-referencing with Sligo County Council’s planning files. This property is just one of Clarke’s, with a further two properties listed on Airbnb in Sligo. One of these, which he “co-hosts” with his mother, Siobhan Fallon, has been converted from Fallon’s hairdressing salon. The property has been split into three separate listings on Airbnb, with guests able to book the upstairs apartment, the downstairs apartment, or the entire property. At the end of last year, Fallon received retention planning permission for a change of use to short-term letting despite falling within the rent pressure zone. Sligo County Council has ultimate responsibility for planning permission and decides each application on a case-by-case basis. However, official government guidance to local authorities on providing short-term letting planning permission states that “the planning authority will consider whether the property is situated within a rent pressure zone, an area experiencing high rent inflation and whether there is a sufficient supply of rental properties available for longer-term rental in the area”. It continues, “in areas of high housing demand it is unlikely that permission would be granted”. At the time of writing, there are just two properties available to rent in Sligo Town on Daft.ie, compared to over 60 on Airbnb. Sligo County Council did not respond to a request for comment. Clarke’s other property, another apartment in Sligo Town, is also available on Airbnb. No short-term letting planning permission is available for the address provided on Sligo County Council’s website. Clarke also did not respond to a request for comment and all his properties have since been removed from Airbnb.

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    Questions remain over Kathryn Thomas’ car brand connections despite Rose success

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    By Conor O’Carroll At the midway point of the Rose of Tralee competition, the decision to break tradition and appoint Kathryn Thomas as co-host alongside Dáithí Ó Sé looks to be a success. Taking turns interviewing each Rose, Thomas and Ó Sé eased through the first night without any gaffs or wayward comments and facilitated open discussions of autism and the additional challenges the competition brings for those with ADHD. Thomas’ calm performance has prompted some to suggest her name for the now-vacant RTÉ Radio One show previously occupied by Ryan Tubridy. Much like Tubridy, however, Thomas has a close relationship with many car brands, leaving the door open to suggestions of editorial influence over the prominent radio show. There was some surprise when Thomas, also a Noel Kelly Management client, was announced as co-host of this year’s Rose of Tralee following her poorly timed announcement of her latest brand deal with Peugeot. In her Instagram post, released on the same day as RTÉ revealed Ryan Tubridy’s top-up payments, Thomas is pictured standing next to a new Peugeot 408, valued at between €40,000 to €53,000. This also wasn’t the first time the presenter of RTÉ’s ‘Operation Transformation’, formerly of ‘Rapid’ and ‘No Frontiers’ has received cars from manufacturers, having previously held lucrative brand ambassadorships with Audi and Land Rover Jaguar. Her relationship with Audi dates back to at least 2012 when she promoted the brand across social media and attended its sponsored events and showroom openings. In return for this, she received a convertible Audi A5, a car she described as her favourite accessory and praised for its Alcantara seats. After her stint with Audi, Thomas moved up to a more luxurious brand, partnering with Land Rover. As part of this partnership, Thomas received a Range Rover Evoque Plug-in Hybrid and later took part in a controversial greenwashing campaign that was criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI). In a now-deleted sponsored advertorial published by the Irish Times in 2021, Thomas promoted the SUV for its sustainability and zero emissions when driving in electric mode. The advertisement was part of a series of articles that drew criticism from the ASAI for not producing evidence that driving a Land Rover SUV would lead to a more sustainable lifestyle. RTÉ did not respond to questions asking whether Thomas had received permission from RTÉ management to enter into these brand partnerships. However, they did state that “RTÉ is expediting the establishment of its Register of Interests for staff and contractors, in consultation with the TUG [Trade Union Group]. The terms of reference for the register are being developed. In addition, Acting Deputy DG Adrian Lynch has written to all relevant line managers in RTÉ seeking clarification on any potential breaches of RTÉ’s journalism and content guidelines and meetings are underway”. Noel Kelly Management did not respond to a request for comment on Thomas’ behalf. The Rose of Tralee itself is intertwined with car brand sponsorship, with the website prominently featuring a competition to win a 232 Kia Ceed GT Line. Perhaps then it’s little wonder that Kathryn Thomas is very comfortable presenting it.

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    Varadkar appoints eighth special adviser days before Dáil recess

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    By Conor O’Carroll The Government has announced the appointment of a new special adviser to the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, just days before the Dáil adjourned until mid-September for the summer break. The appointment order is dated 11 July and was included in the 14 July edition of Iris Oifigiúil – Ireland’s official public record – however, it is only today that it has been confirmed as Jim D’Arcy. He will join the nine special advisers currently employed by the Department of An Taoiseach – seven by the Taoiseach and two by Chief Whip and Fine Gael TD Hildegarde Naughton. Ordinarily, the number of special advisers a Minister can have is limited to two, though this rule does not apply to the Taoiseach, Tánaiste or leader of any political party. As a result, An Tánaiste, Micheál Martin, has five special advisers, while Eamon Ryan has eight – two of which are employed on a job-share basis. The appointment of special advisers requires Government approval and the order confirming their appointment is published as a statutory instrument. The appointment order states that D’Arcy’s role has been effective from 16 January 2023, meaning 191 days have elapsed since his appointment and the release of the statutory instrument. This is the longest delay in announcement for the current crop of special advisers, but this practice isn’t unusual. Following the rotation of the Taoiseach in December last year, Ministers were required to re-appoint their special advisers. Analysis of each statutory instrument released since then shows that on average 94 days elapse between appointment and public notification. Noel Byrne’s appointment as special adviser to Fianna Fáil TD and Minister of State Anne Rabbitte on 21 December 2022 was signed by the Taoiseach on 4 May 2023, 66 days after he had left the post on 28 February. In total, fifteen of the 55 appointments were not officially announced until over 100 days after their start date as listed on the order. A further 23 announcements came more than 90 days after the appointment. The shortest gap between appointment and the statutory instrument being signed was 38 days, when Fiona Campbell was appointed as special adviser to Fine Gael TD and Minister for State Neale Richmond. Just ten appointment orders were signed within 60 days of the position being filled. A spokesperson for the Department of the Taoiseach stated “it is common for there to be a delay between the effective date of appointment and the making of the Order given the practicalities involved”. No response was offered when clarity was sought as to what these practicalities entailed. Further discrepancies arise when these statutory instruments are compared to the list of special advisers published by the government. The appointment order of Patrick Cluskey and Fiach Kelly as special advisers to the Taoiseach was signed on 16 May 2023 – 151 days after their appointment – but neither official appears in the list of special advisers published by the government. Responding to a parliamentary question submitted by Independent TD Violet-Anne Wynne earlier this month, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee confirmed that both were employed at the Department of Justice as her special advisers. The spokesperson for the Department of the Taoiseach continued, “The addition of the two advisers to the Department of the Taoiseach was a temporary measure due to the arrangements for maternity leave for Minister McEntee. The omission of the names of the two advisers from the list published by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery & Reform was an oversight and the list will be updated in due course”. Despite the list purporting to be accurate as of 11 July, Jim D’Arcy too is not on the list, at the time of writing. The total salaries of those employed by the various Ministers and Ministers of State comes to just over €5 million, though this figure does not include Patrick Cluskey, Fiach Kelly or the Taoiseach’s latest appointment. It also does not include any incremental increases earned over time or the 2% pay rise received by civil servants as part of the 2023 public sector pay increase applied from March 2023. The salaries range from €51,679 (as part of a job share arrangement) to €195,137, though the two highest earners – Deirdre Gillane (€195,137) and Brian Murphy (€185,350) – have voluntarily returned an unknown amount of their salary. Alan Ahearne, special adviser to An Tánaiste Micheál Martin, does not receive any salary as he is on part-time secondment from NUIG. Of the 50 special advisers to receive a salary, 35 earn in excess of €100,000. It is as yet unclear how much the Taoiseach’s latest appointment will earn.

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    Ireland allows unlawful exploitation of the most vulnerable: international student Deliveroo and Just Eat riders.

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    Fast-food delivery companies Deliveroo and Just Eat are dependent in Ireland on illegal labour that exploits international students who risk deportation by working for them. By J Vivian Cooke. The liveried bicyclists who zip past, delivering fast food, are probably working illegally. The fast-food delivery platforms operating in Ireland such as Deliveroo and Just Eat are so dependent on illegal labour to effect deliveries that flouting Irish immigration and employment law is at the very heart of their business model. These companies are aware of the practices, but, rather than enforce compliance with existing law, and, for that matter, the terms of their own service contracts, Deliveroo, in particular, in a remarkable manifestation of arrogance, has actually lobbied intensively to have Irish employment law changed. Many of the problems with the gig economy are well rehearsed: exploitative rates of pay; widespread tax non-compliance; dangerous working conditions; and a lack of the social protections that are due to most other workers. The platform companies actively avoid their responsibilities to their workers by categorising riders as self-employed. This categorisation has been challenged across Europe with varying degrees of success as differences in national legislation make the self-employment categorisation valid in some countries (UK and Ireland), but unlawful in others (Spain, Italy and the Netherlands). However, Stamp 2 visa holders – students from non-EU/EEA countries attending approved full-time English-language or third-level courses – are only allowed to engage in casual employment for less than 20 hours per week during college terms and for no more than 40 hours per week outside of college terms. Their visa conditions are explicit: they are not permitted to engage in business or trade. It is illegal for Stamp 2 visa holders to be self-employed. The inescapable logic of the fast-food delivery platforms insisting that their riders are self-employed is that Stamp 2 visa holders cannot legally be Deliveroo, Just Eat or UberEats riders. Deliveroo, for one, acknowledges as much in a series of documents released to Village Magazine under a Freedom of Information request. In May 2021, Deliveroo’s Country Manager, Paddy Quinlan, wrote to the Minister responsible, Leo Varadkar, looking to change international students’ working permissions because “It is increasingly clear that the law prohibiting Stamp 2 visa holders from being self-employed has presented a significant challenge for international students”. When Deliveroo CEO, Will Shu, met Varadkar later that month, these illegal work practices were one of the items that featured prominently on their agenda; while the Department of Enterprise’s records show that, at a further meeting about the topic with Minister Damien English on 18 October 2021, “They [Deliveroo] also indicated that they had contacted the Minister for Justice regarding limitations imposed regarding working hours under certain visa permission categories”. The inescapable logic of the fast-food delivery platforms insistence that their riders are self-employed is that Stamp 2 visa holders cannot legally be Uber Eats, Deliveroo or Just Eat riders Yet the use of illegal labour in the industry is widespread and is facilitated by how Deliveroo designs and operates its rider Apps. Prospective platform riders must produce documents confirming their identity and their legal entitlement to work before they are accepted as riders. However, lacking the requisite permissions and paperwork, Stamp 2 visa holders cannot sign up to be riders using their own identities. However, a feature of Deliveroo and Just Eat’s rider Apps is that approved riders are allowed to use their profiles to appoint another person to complete the account holder’s deliveries. Nevertheless, neither Just Eat nor Deliveroo asks to see or check the substitute riders’ documents when profile owners substitute them. Instead, Deliveroo warns its account holders that “When working with a substitute it’s your responsibility to check they have valid right to work in Ireland. This includes a valid Irish or EU passport, or the relevant visas. There are often conditions to working with visas, for example, people on Stamp 2 (student) visas are not eligible to work with Deliveroo”. Hypocritically it notes the gravity of breaking immigration law: “Failing to carry out Right to Work checks can be considered a criminal offence with sanctions of up to 5 years of imprisonment and a fine up to €250,000, it eschews all responsibility for addressing the consequences”. This is one of the most cynical policies Village has seen. Within the tightly knit foreign-student community sometimes it is a matter of using a qualifying friend’s or relation’s profile. However, for many others, a shadow market has arisen in which valid profile owners unlawfully rent out their Deliveroo or Just Eat rider profiles to migrants who are not legally permitted to undertake self-employed work and charge them up to €100 per week for the privilege of working in miserable conditions for miserly fees. Deliveroo self-servingly facilitates this illegal practice by allowing account holders to change the details of the receiving bank account into which rider fees are remitted. This allows fees to be paid directly into the substitute riders’ bank accounts. However, some profile owners insist that substitute riders’ fees are paid to the profile owner’s bank account and sometimes the fees earned are withheld from the substitute. In such situations, the rider has very little recourse as reporting the theft exposes them to the risk of being deported for breaching the conditions of their visa. Moreover, Deliveroo’s sign-up page for riders on its Irish website is available in English and in Portuguese. Pointedly, the version of the Portuguese translation offered is the Brazilian vernacular rather than the European version. Only a very small proportion of Brazilians resident in Ireland have the legal entitlement to engage in self-employed work. The choice of vernacular offered is consistent with what Quinlan noted: “is a significant desire among Stamp 2 visa holders for work as Deliveroo riders”. There can be no doubt that the practice is endemic. It is not possible to quantify precisely the extent of the practice because participants are predictably reluctant to admit that they work in breach of their visa conditions. Indeed,

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