Students around the country are suffering under the financial burden of high rent and increasing registration fees, with over 1,500 students seeking advice from Trinity College welfare services in the last month.
Orlaith Foley, accommodation officer with Trinity College Student Union, says 1,592 students have contacted the service looking for advice since August 5th, up from 890 over the same period last year.
She says students are “caught in a net of rising rent”, while also faced with expensive college registration fees. The national registration fee for students entering third-level education in 2014 is €2,750 and is expected to rise to €3,000 by 2015.
“We tell students to expect to pay anywhere between €450-€650 for rent in Dublin, although unfortunately we’ve had very few students lucky enough to find somewhere for €450,” said Ms Foley. “This is a significant expense for first-year students, especially coming from a family with two-three children already in college.”
Ms Foley says there has been a “phenomenal response” from people around the city interested in renting out a room to students through digs.
“It’s as much as a learning curve for landlords as it is for students,” she said. “We make sure they have a lease agreement, and have made arrangements between the landlord and student. You’re looked upon as a guest of the family as much as tenant.”
Ms Foley has advised digs landlords to charge between €80-€120 per week, and up to €140 when meals are included.
Evan Healy, budgetary adviser at University College Cork (UCC), has also witnessed an increased demand for student financial advice. He says numbers are up 20 per cent compared to the same time last year. Students “across the board”, including post-graduate students, are facing cash-flow problems.
Greg O’Donoghue, vice-president for welfare at the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), said students struggling financially have a number of options, including the Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) grant and University Student Assistance Funds (SAF). However, he warns these financial grants won’t be made available to students until mid-October.
“The majority of students must pay the first month rent in September, plus a deposit, which can cost up to €600,” said Mr O’Donoghue. “An interest-free loan from the bank may be the only option.”
Meanwhile, Ms Foley said large numbers of students have decided to commute to college due to rising rental prices in the capital.
“It’s such a huge commitment - it could be three hours of your day on a bus or a train. Not having that flexibility and knowing you have to get the bus at 8-9pm will certainly impact on academic performance and mental health.”
Last week, USI president Laura Harmonrevealed the cost of sending a student to college in Ireland tops €13,000 a year, according to a study by Bank of Ireland, while the average grant comes to €3,025. She said access to higher-level education is “under threat” due to inflation and rising costs in rent.
“The USI’s position is that third-level education should be free because it benefits society as a whole,” said Ms Harmon. “We believe that if Ireland is to see itself out of this recession, having highly skilled graduates being able to live and work here is the way forward.”
The USI will hold a national rally for education in Dublin on October 8th.
