Off-campus student accommodation in Cork 'wholly unaffordable' at €14,000

UCC’s student union president to tell Oireachtas Committee on Higher Education that 'access to affordable accommodation is currently the single biggest barrier to education in the third-level sector'

Students not offered a place through UCC’s accommodation lottery, can find themselves having to pay double the UCC rent somewhere else, Dáil to hear. Picture: Dan Linehan

The cost of off-campus student accommodation at University College Cork (UCC) will rise as high as €14,000 for the college year, up to double that charged within the university’s own residences.

An Oireachtas committee will hear on Wednesday how this stands as a “wholly unaffordable” situation for the average student, according to Alex Angland, the president of UCC’s student union.

Mr Angland will tell the Oireachtas Committee on Higher Education that headlines detailing how the student accommodation crisis is only getting worse are “the reality for students”.

“If a student is not fortunate enough to be offered a place through UCC’s accommodation lottery, they can find themselves having to pay double the UCC rent somewhere else,” Mr Angland will say.

At just 1,540 beds, UCC’s student accommodation complement is the lowest per head in the university sector.

Mr Angland will highlight how the ratio of public versus private accommodation for students in the Cork area, already lagging badly behind universities in the rest of the country, is “only getting worse” with several new premium accommodation providers entering the Cork market over the last few years.

“Access to affordable accommodation is currently the single biggest barrier to education in the third-level sector,” Mr Angland will say, adding the few students who can afford to leave home for college often “must pay extortionate prices or settle for a room that is often damp, mouldy or not fit for purpose”.

Separately, president of the Union of Students in Ireland Bryan O’Mahony will tell the committee Irish students more generally are “faced with a critical shortage in publicly funded, purpose-built student accommodation”.

Students are “competing directly” with young families and workers to secure a place to live.

“Average rents in purpose-built student housing now exceed €800 per month, with luxury developments costing considerably more,” Mr O’Mahony will say, adding students subsisting on a State grant cannot afford to match those rents.

Due to the lack of affordable accommodation, many students will resort to couch-surfing or living in hostels for weeks on end.

“For many, long commutes are the only option. We hear daily from students travelling two, three, even four hours to and from campus. These journeys are exhausting, and cause burnout,” he is expected to tell the committee.

Mr O’Mahony will add the solutions to the crisis “are clear” — public investment in student accommodation, rent caps, and regulations.