Students in Dublin are being forced to “beg people as a last resort” in their search for housing.
Students’ unions are urging Dubliners to open their homes to college students as part of their now-annual student accommodation drive this morning.
The Dublin Students’ Digs Drive will be at Connolly Station from 7am to 10am, and at Pearse and Tara Stations from 5pm to 7pm, with union members distributing leaflets encouraging residents to host students for the school year.
Speaking to Newstalk at Connolly Station this morning, one student said he knows others who "have had to commute from Offaly, sometimes even Mayo, or Galway just to come in for an education".
Another said she was "fortunate enough that my grandmother lives in Dublin and I live with her - she's very good for taking me in".
On Newstalk Breakfast today, Trinity College Dublin Students Union (TCDSU) President Jenny Maguire explained the origins of the digs drive.
“Every single year, we see this panic among students trying to find somewhere to live during their education,” she said.
“So, for the past two years, Trinity and UCD have teamed up to do a digs drive to essentially beg people as a last resort.”
Ms Maguire noted that some students have been left in dire situations due to the accommodation crisis.
Student accomodation. Image: Jonny Abbas / Alamy Stock Photo“Often, accommodation is now a deciding factor in whether someone can actually continue their studies,” she said.
“We hear so many horror stories—students living in cars or sleeping in libraries. These situations are becoming more and more common year after year.”
“We’re just asking if anyone has a room they could rent out to a student."
Incentives
She also mentioned tax incentives for those willing to rent a room to a student.
“Our student unions work with landlords to create fair deals for both parties,” she said.
“People who rent out a room can earn up to €14,000 tax-free just by providing a student with a place to stay.”
We are giving out flyers at Connolly Station encouraging people to rent out a room to students! Here with UCD, DCU, IADT and NCAD!
This is an immediate solution for an issue created by years of underfunding our third-level sector - we need purpose built student accommodation now pic.twitter.com/SeulyFjZHg
— Jenny ?? (@jennymaguir) August 13, 2024
Ms Maguire described the digs drive as an immediate solution to a long-standing issue.
“We see digs as a stopgap to a much larger problem—one that has persisted for years with the privatisation of student accommodation.
"It’s been left to private companies to run for profit, whereas we really need purpose-built, affordable accommodation.”
Politics
She also claimed that politics plays a role in the student accommodation crisis.
“When colleges try to apply for planning permission to build more accommodation, they are often denied because there isn’t much political gain in building student housing,” she said.
"Yet, we pride ourselves on having an excellent third-level sector that provides jobs and produces a well-educated population.”
“Working in a students' union, you realise that there’s not as much to be proud of when students are homeless and struggling just to get their degrees.”
Some 17% of students commute to college for more than an hour each day.
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Main image: Student accomodation in the UK. Image: Hufton+Crow-VIEW / Alamy Stock Photo
