Accommodation crisis will cause students to abandon studies, says USI

STUDENTS have warned the Government there will be a sharp fall-off in numbers attending third-level colleges due to soaring rents and lack of student accommodation.

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) claims countless students will be forced to abandon their studies or refuse college places because of accommodation mayhem expected in the coming weeks.

USI members kept an overnight vigil outside the Department of Environment in Dublin last night in protest at the growing crisis.

They say the problem is countrywide but most acute in the capital where, they say, rents have increased by 79% in the last three years.

The group slept in a specially erected hut made of timber and blocks on the pavement to highlight what they say will be the enormous lengths students will have to go to if they are to be sure of having a roof over their head this term. They painted it red to symbolise their anger.

“Accommodation problems for students have been described as a crisis in previous years. This year, catastrophe will be a more fitting description,” said USI president Colm Jordan. “Successive governments have fostered and protected a system where the only winner is the landlord.”

He predicted a large number of students would have to put their college plans on hold, spend as long as four or five hours daily commuting from less crowded fringe counties or sleep rough.

“More will have chosen their course by location due to projected rent costs rather than studying where they genuinely want to,” he said.

Higher Education Authority figures show that more than 1,000 students ended up staying in hostels last year because they were unable to find alternative accommodation.

Mr Jordan called on the Government to immediately provide on-campus accommodation to ease the problem.

Past studies have shown only 6% of students in Ireland are housed in such on-campus accommodation, compared to 28% in Britain and 17% in mainland Europe.

The union, which represents 250,000 students, claimed its members’ plight was further exacerbated by the recent decision of the Education Minister Noel Dempsey to increase the third level registration fee.

The National Youth Council of Ireland said it fully supported the students’ protest and called on the Government to provide purpose-built student accommodation without delay.