Students being ‘priced out of third-level education’, says SU president

Students are being priced out of going to university due to a shortage of suitable and affordable accommodation, which requires a commitment from government to address, the UCC Students’ Union president has said.

A recent report by The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science showed that nationally there are three applications for every student bed on university campuses.

The ‘Funding the Future’ report says that in Ireland 45% of higher education students live with their parents, 19% live in purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), and 36% live elsewhere, predominantly in private accommodation.

Publicly owned PBSA was oversubscribed by approximately 29,773 for the 2023/24 academic year, the report said.

It added that those students who are unsuccessful in obtaining a place are forced into the private market.

University College Cork Students’ Union president Katie Halpin Hill told The Echo: “There is a national deficit of 30,000 beds that can only be meaningfully addressed with affordable and publicly owned purpose-built student accommodation.

“The current approach of relying on private providers of premium accommodation to plug demand is unsustainable and only serves to put students at risk.”

She continued: “The government’s lack of action on this issue has led to a scenario where landlords are in a position where they can charge unacceptable rents, and students are so desperate to secure somewhere that they will agree to a price they can’t afford.

“Students are being priced out of third-level education, and this needs to be addressed by a commitment from government to support higher education institutes in building affordable purpose-built student accommodation for their students.”