Rory Hearne: Accommodation crisis leaves students stressed and exhausted

This is the worst student accommodation crisis we have ever seen in this country and the Government was warned it was coming but ignored it

The accommodation crisis is a real risk to increasing the access of disadvantaged students to third level, and even if they can access it, it reduces their ability to fulfil their potential, reducing their ability to study and engage in college life. File picture: Alamy/PA

Students are sleeping in fields, in cars, packed into hostels, paying up to €400 a week to stay in a hotel, couch-surfing, or commuting up to five hours daily to attend lectures. 

Some have not been able to take up their first-preference course, others have deferred, and even dropped out. This is the worst student accommodation crisis we have ever seen in this country.