USI warns of housing crisis for students

Thousands of students are facing a summer of despair because of the lack of affordable accommodation, it was warned today.

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) urged all political parties fighting the general election to commit to tackling the potential crisis.

It wants the next government to set up a taskforce on student accommodation that will deal with the dearth of low-rent houses.

USI President Colm Hamrogue said there was a towering mismatch between supply and demand.

“Ireland is already a byword for unaffordable accommodation, but a worsening of the affordable accommodation crisis would spell chaos for students already struggling to cope,” he said.

“Many colleges schedule end-of-semester exams in the weeks either side of the General Election, so after that it won’t be long before demand for affordable rented accommodation peaks.

“This means the next government will have only weeks to act, at most.”

Mr Hamrogue suggested the problem will be further exacerbated as student accommodation designated under the Section 50 scheme returns to the open market in the coming years.

“USI is calling on all parties to pledge their support for the establishment of a government taskforce to investigate solutions to the student housing problem,” he said.