By Conor O’Carroll
Over a hundred complaints were sent to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris TD, ahead of the start of the academic year as the struggle for student accommodation continued for thousands of students.
Parents and students inundated the Minister’s office with complaints about the lack of available accommodation, while some pleaded for help, records released to Village Magazine show.
“Never once in the 14 years of getting my children up and out to school with their lunch and uniform did it occur to me that they may not get to university because of a severe lack of student accommodation”, one parent fumed.
“Students have been let down in this regard”, they continued.
Another complained that “there is a total crisis in accommodation if you don’t want to pay over €2,000 [a month] for a one-bedroom shoe box”.
Desperate measures to attend also saw some students living in hostels and hotels, at great expense to themselves and their families. Others faced long commutes or sleeping on the floors of friends
The removal of several student accommodation options from the market, with the spaces instead being used to house Ukrainian refugees, created a further scarcity of purpose-built student accommodation this year.
Analysis of tender documents published by the Department of Children shows at least eight student-accommodation options from Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Cork have been contracted for Ukrainian accommodation.
While there was an understanding of the need to house Ukrainians fleeing war, the use of student accommodation amid shortages was met with frustration by many.
“Unless you have your head in the sand you must know that third-level students have faced a huge challenge in securing accommodation”, complained one parent, describing the situation as a “government in which the right hand does not seem to know what the left hand is doing”.
The competing demands of the two departments led to internal clashes between staffers when two more student accommodation premises in Sligo were contracted by the Department of Children earlier this summer.
Sheenagh Rooney, Assistant Secretary of the Ukraine Programme Management Division, pushed back against queries from Department of Further & Higher Education officials at a Humanitarian Senior Officials Group meeting in June.
Rooney cited “competing priorities” between the two departments and noted that the student accommodation beds were coming from private providers.
The government eventually overturned the decision to contract student accommodation in Sligo and new rules were put in place requiring student accommodation to be vacant for 12 months before it is eligible to house refugees.
However, with contracts at many premises already signed for this year, this change was of little benefit to the students struggling to find somewhere to live.
Analysis of tender documents published by the Department of Children shows at least eight student-accommodation options from Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Cork have been contracted for Ukrainian accommodation
“How can young people attend college if they have no place to live”, questioned one student, while another asked: “What are we to do? Keep deferring for years in the hope that some accommodation will become available”?
Union of Students in Ireland President, Chris Clifford said: “There is no doubt that student accommodation is an absolute disaster at the moment, and it has been for a number of years”.
“Students are paying extortionate prices for rooms, just so they can get their degrees and make a life for themselves. Many who haven’t been able to find accommodation at all are commuting long distances on buses, some up to three or four hours a day, or incurring huge expenses driving to college”, he continued.
Another issue raised repeatedly in the emails to Minister Harris was the lack of primary teaching options outside of Dublin and Limerick, and the accommodation pressures this creates with students for the popular career choice congregating in one area.
Earlier this year, Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD, announced over 600 new primary teaching course places over the next two years to combat the ongoing recruitment struggles schools face.
However, these extra spaces weren’t matched with additional beds.
In Limerick, hundreds of beds were also lost when student accommodation close to Mary Immaculate College was contracted to house Ukrainian refugees.
“I do not see the benefit of announcing additional college places if there is nowhere for the students to live”, wrote one parent, calling the search for accommodation “an extremely stressful and expensive process”.
As the start of the academic year loomed, the stress and anxiety placed on families and students searching for accommodation grew.
Some spoke of being forced to defer courses, or in some cases defer for a second time meaning they would have to re-apply with the CAO next year. Others questioned whether they should give up on their dream because of the lack of accommodation.
Desperate measures to attend also saw some students living in hostels and hotels, at great expense to themselves and their families. Others faced long commutes or sleeping on the floors of friends.
Clifford said these arrangments adversely affect students’ mental health, with many feeling “isolated and disconnected” from their classmates, friends and wider college experience.
A spokesperson for the Department of Further and Higher Education told Village: “Minister Harris is acutely aware of the difficulties being faced by students and their families in securing appropriate affordable accommodation to allow their participation in higher education”.
“An additional 929 beds were available in publicly funded Higher Education institutions this academic year, compared to last year. The Department is aware of an additional 618 private beds completed so far this year, with a further 1,500 privately funded beds scheduled for completion this year”, the spokesperson continued.
“To date, the Government has approved a total of up to €61m to directly invest in the construction of circa 1,000 new student accommodation units across a number of higher education institutions with discounted rates targeted at SUSI and other student cohorts for a percentage of the units”.
Some questioned whether they should give up on their dream because of the lack of accommodation.
Each of the complaints sent to Minister Harris received a response from his office, offering what support and advice they could on sourcing accommodation. They also wished every complainant well with their studies.
“Wishes are no use to my daughter, action is required”, retorted one parent in response.
