'Enough is enough': Cork students protest against hike in rent costs

University College Cork students were among those who protested against proposed changes which would allow for student accommodation rent hikes in Dublin this week.

The protests are in response to reports that the Department of Higher Education is considering allowing private accommodation providers to hike rents for students more often to attract more developers into the sector.

Labour’s further and higher education spokesperson senator Laura Harmon has said a meeting with the minister for further and higher education on Thursday was constructive, but warned that students and families urgently need clarity and action on fees, rent and accommodation.

Speaking following the meeting in Leinster House, Ms Harmon said: “I welcomed the opportunity to meet with the minister and I acknowledge that the engagement was constructive. However, students and their families have heard warm words before. What they need now is clarity and certainty, particularly when it comes to rent levels, fees, and the overall accommodation strategy for students.

“At a time when the cost of living, the cost of commuting, the cost of eating, and the cost of renting continue to skyrocket, the minister for further and higher education must side with students. Enough is enough,” she said.

She added that families are already enduring an additional €500 cost through increased student fees, “and they cannot absorb any more pressure”.

She said there is deep concern among students and parents that changes being signalled could pave the way for multiple rent increases for students living in purpose-built accommodation, even within rent pressure zones (RPZ) which, she said “would be completely unacceptable”.

The senator said that RPZ legislation is meant to protect renters, not create a back door for further price hikes targeted at students.

Ms Harmon called on the minister to give clear assurances on the matter, saying: 

“Education should open doors, not push young people and their families further into debt or precarity. If we are serious about access to education, then reducing the cost of attending college has to be a core objective of government policy.”

The meeting followed a protest outside Leinster House, where students, students’ unions, and representatives from AMLÉ came together to highlight the real pressure facing those in further and higher education.

Their voices reflect a growing frustration across the country, as students are working longer hours, commuting further, and paying extortionate rents just to stay in education, she said.