'A scary situation' for students looking for accommodation in Cork for academic year

Students Union representatives from colleges across Ireland joined Labour spokesperson on further and higher education Senator Laura Harmon, who will publish a bill to close loopholes in student rent legislation by stamping out 'bogus charges'. Pictures: Larry Cummins

Parents are desperately contacting student welfare officers ahead of the new academic year as they struggle to find accommodation for the college year.

Representatives from students' unions, who gathered in Cork on Wednesday, say students are commuting long distances, missing meals, and struggling to find affordable places to live, while some have decided to take a gap year to work full-time so they can afford college costs.

Cork City has been ranked the second-most expensive place in Ireland for university students, with annual costs estimated at more than €17,500.

Caoimhe Brinkley, welfare officer at UCC Students’ Union, said it was a “scary situation” for students and their families.

"I have had parents contact me about being scared for the future of their children; everyone wants their children to go to college.

They are just desperate for their children. They are contacting me on their behalf, saying my child has been in contact with lots of private accommodation providers, they’re on the Facebook groups, they’re on rental platforms such as Student Pad, and they are not finding anything.

“Over 20% of the emails, phone calls, and social media requests I get are in relation to accommodation queries from parents,” Ms Brinkley said.

“And they are doing it on behalf of, and in the best interests of, their children,” she added.

Cian McGrath, president, MTU Students Union; Patrick McGrath, deputy president, MTU Kerry campus; and Ben McCarthy, deputy president MTU Students Union

Meanwhile, at MTU's Kerry campus, the lack of Higher Education Authority-supported accommodation has left students commuting from as far away as Kilkenny, Clare, Limerick, and Cork.

MTU Students’ Union president Cian McGrath said students who cannot secure accommodation face commutes of between two and five hours, depending on traffic, public transport, and whether they are driving.

The campus, which has just under 3,000 full-time students and about 100 apprentices at a time, has a “constant demand for accommodation”, he said.

“We’ve had multiple people, prospective and current students, reach out to us and say the accommodation that is available is too expensive, asking if there are any cheaper alternatives,” said Patrick McGrath, deputy president of MTU Students’ Union for the Kerry campus.

“And we just have to be blunt and honest and say there are not,” he added.

Mr McGrath said students were cutting back on expenses and, in some cases, missing classes because they cannot find affordable accommodation.

“It’s not even about skipping out [on paying for lunch or going out], people are skipping out on classes as well. They say, ‘I only have two classes today, why am I travelling three or four hours to attend them?’ And that ends up hurting their overall education,” he added.

Students’ unions gathered on Nano Nagle Bridge in Cork City on Wednesday afternoon to launch a bill aimed at preventing student accommodation providers from circumventing rent controls by imposing additional compulsory charges on tenants as fees.

If passed, the bill would close a loophole in student rental laws by ensuring mandatory service charges are included upfront in rental prices.

Speaking about the bill, Senator Laura Harmon said higher education minister James Lawless would meet her in September to discuss it. She said she hoped the Government would work with the Labour Party on the issue.