Parents struggling to meet the rising cost of student accommodation and being forced to take out loans were among complaints received by the Minister for Higher Education at the start of the academic year.
The letters sent to the Minister, Fine Gael’s Patrick O’Donovan, at the beginning of the new academic year in August and September, were released under the Freedom of Information Act.
“I’m at my wits end and cannot find anyone who can help,” one parent wrote in a complaint.
“Our youngest daughter is in Trinity this coming September. Unfortunately, she was not a lucky recipient of a place at Trinity Hall. It makes no sense to us, as we live almost four hours’ drive away.”
The parent said they could “see why some students are forced to drop out of college or give up their places”.
Another parent said the recent change of some student accommodation contracts from 41 weeks to 51 weeks was “such a huge burden on families to send their child to college in what is already a very expensive monthly expense”.
“How are parents expected to pay for accommodation that will mostly go unused in the summer months and yet will not be allowed to sublet?” the parent wrote.
“Most students want to explore during the summer rather than stay in their student accommodation. Something is not fair in all of this … My daughter deserves her place in the National College of Art and Design, which she absolutely loves. If she cannot find accommodation, she cannot return to college.”
A couple, describing themselves as middle-income earners with no other assets and who “have both worked our entire lives to date” said the costs of third-level education and accommodation were “almost out of our reach and we have to apply for a loan”.
Their daughter was attending a course that is not available anywhere near where they lived.
“I feel it is grossly unfair … I’m really asking that fees are abolished and that we can get more financial support towards paying for accommodation costs,” the parent wrote.
“This has all caused major stress in our lives and we are just about managing to pay our household bills at the moment with very little left over after that.”
Earlier this year, the Government announced funding of €100 million for more than 1,000 student beds in University College Dublin, Dublin City University and Maynooth University.
A Eurostudent Survey data from 2022 showed that 45 per cent of Irish higher education students were living with their parents, 19 per cent were in purpose-built student accommodation and 36 per cent were living predominantly in the private rental sector.
One parent, who complained to the Minister, said the lack of accommodation was creating “extreme difficulty and stress” for students.
“I am speaking not just on behalf of my daughter but many other students whose plight I have heard through my daughter, who has commenced first year in University of Limerick,” the parent said.
“The lack of accommodation in Limerick and the rising cost of accommodation has posed serious difficulties.”
It was putting “huge pressures on hard-working families” and students were “forced to work long hours during their college week, along with trying to fulfil their college commitments, as their parents struggle to fund the huge costs”.
A paper published by the Department of Education in September showed that publicly owned purpose-built student accommodation was oversubscribed by about 29,773 applications for the 2023-2024 year.
On average there were three applications for every one student bed on campus, the paper said.
Construction cost increases, fuelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Brexit and Covid were having a significant impact on the supply and affordability of new rental accommodation for higher-level students, it said.
The paper noted that the estimated construction price for student accommodation in the Greater Dublin Area stood at in excess of €200,000 for a single room en suite.
The impact on supply has been significant: more than 10,900 units granted planning permission in the university public and private student accommodation sector have not been started.
