A student from Donegal might have to commute five hours to Maynooth in September as the accommodation crisis continues to erode college life.
Caitlin Faye Maniti, due to start at Maynooth University next month, is one of thousands of students struggling to find somewhere to live in or around Dublin.
Student union leaders have warned that, as up to 250,000 students prepare to return to college in the upcoming weeks, many face long commutes while others will be forced to sleep on couches or floors in over-crowded accommodation.
This comes as Further Education Minister Simon Harris appeals to homeowners to rent out their spare rooms to students under a scheme that could earn them €14,000 a year tax-free.
RELATED: Junior Cert students to be given lessons on consent, gender identity, addiction
Ms Maniti, the outgoing President of the Irish Second- Level Students’ Union, has been searching for accommodation since February. However, due to a ‘lack of supply and high demand’, she has not even been able to find a sofa to sleep on.
‘The accommodation crisis has masked all the excitement for my first year of college, and I’m really scared,’ she said.
‘My fallback option is to live out of a suitcase, go to a BnB every week and commute back home for five hours every weekend.
RELATED: Simon Harris urges homeowners to rent spare rooms out to college students
‘I’ve searched on daft.ie, looked at three different student accommodation villages and individual rooms for rent, but there is nothing available to me.’
Ms Maniti told Newstalk that she now views sofa surfing as a ‘great’ option for her. ‘That’s how deep we are into the crisis – where students are surrendering their comfort just for a night’s sleep.’
She added: ‘Students are looking at the option of commuting two hours a day to get to college. That, for me, is just not a viable solution as I live five hours away.’
RELATED: This is when students will receive Leaving Cert results this year
One international college student enrolled at University College Dublin (UCD), Maria Cristina, is also struggling to find accommodation for the upcoming academic year, despite searching since May.
She told the Mail: ‘We international students all joke that we might need to live in St Stephen’s Green or invest in a tent, but the joke soon becomes sour as the reality hits.
‘I’ve sent applications using websites such as daft.ie, and contacted private university accommodations. I was rejected by all of them for various reasons: the rooms were not available anymore, or the accommodation was fully booked.’
A spokesman for UCD’s Student Union, Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich, told the Mail: ‘Students who can’t find somewhere to live for the year are being forced to take leaves of absence, defer their courses, or take on significant debt to pay for somewhere to live. For years, employers have been telling students that what you do outside the classroom is often what gets you the job. Involvement in a club, a society or the SU helps you develop closer friendships.
‘Nobody can apply themselves in these conditions. Students are at breaking point, physically, financially, and mentally.’
This comes as President of Trinity College Dublin Linda Doyle says the student accommodation crisis must be treated as an emergency and requires a similar response to that seen during the pandemic. She told Newstalk: ‘Lots of students would have spent many hours in their bedroom because of Covid, at a time to come and mix with your peers, get involved in clubs and societies, and develop wider skills for employment. All that’s completely eroded.
‘If you look what happened during Covid when we mustered all the forces in the state, and had regular meetings about everything to do with Covid, I really think we’re in that space now, and it has to be treated like that.’
Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has said the Rent-a-Room scheme will help ‘several hundred’ students find accommodation this year as he urges homeowners to get on board.
The scheme, which allows a homeowner to make up to €14,000 per year tax free, saw 3,000 students housed in 2018 and could save hundreds of students currently at breaking point.
When asked for a response to the crisis, a spokeswoman for the Department of Further and Higher Education said: ‘It is clear that as a country we need to dramatically increase the supply of all types of housing and accommodation.
‘As of December 2021, there were approximately 14,500 purpose-built student accommodation spaces.
‘Hundreds of additional beds will be made available this academic year and a further 670 are expected later in 2023.’
Is your child facing issues with college housing? Talk about it on our discussion boards.
