Almost 79,000 apply for CAO third-level places

Applications for entry to third-level are up slightly to nearly 79,000 people as the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) warns that urgent action is needed to address accommodation shortages.

It wants the Government to increase emergency funds for students struggling most with rent and other costs, but also wants higher grant rates restored to students living certain distances from college.

The call came as final applicant figures from the Central Applications Office (CAO) show 79,214 people seeking entry. When 515 of those who applied through a new system for places in second or later years of courses are excluded, the 78,699 total is still up nearly 300 on the 2014 figure.

The CAO will fill places on 1,400 courses at 44 colleges over the coming two months, but the bulk of around 47,000 students due to begin undergraduate programmes this autumn will receive offers on Monday week, August 17.

This will follow the issue of results next Wednesday to more than 58,000 Leaving Certificate students, almost 46,700 of whom have made a third-level application.

USI president Kevin Donoghue said additional supports are needed to help those struggling who can not even afford digs. The union is highlighting the tax-free status of earnings of up to €12,000 for homeowners who rent a room.

“An increase in the Student Assistance Fund would help many students who will struggle to pay for basic utilities in the coming months due to increased rent and travel costs,” Mr Donoghue said.

The fund is issued through the HEA for colleges to help grant recipients who are in financial difficulties, but has had to be increased in recent years due to rising demand.

As well as a €250 rise in student fees to €3,000 this autumn, a recent cost guide from Dublin Institute of Technology pointed to a 6% jump in rents.

While they are averaging €325 a month for a single room nationally, the figure is almost €100 higher in Dublin and students can face figures of more than €1,000 for a one-bedroom unit in the heart of the capital.

The USI president said increasing financial supports for students who live 24km to 45km from college would help alleviate problems. Around €30m a year has been cut from the student support budget since the distance from home to college to qualify for higher grant rates was increased in 2011 from 24km to 45km.

There have been calls for tax incentives to boost the construction of student accommodation, including University College Cork president Dr Michael Murphy’s recent suggestion of a VAT exemption for such projects.

However, Mr Donoghue said that while tax incentives can play a part in solving the issue, there is a tendency to believe we can tax-cut our way out of every mess in the country.

“They can’t be used on their own as some sort of a fix-all solution,” he said.

Anyone earning rent of up to €12,000 a year for rooms in their own primary residence, including for meals and laundry or other digs- related services, does not have to pay tax on the income. The amount that can be earned without a tax liability has increased from a €10,000 ceiling which applied from 2008 to 2014.