Chai Brady
University chaplains have voiced solidarity with students struggling to pay exorbitant student accommodation costs which have seen yearly increases in some cases, with some saying prices are back to “Celtic Tiger era”.
Students from Dublin City University (DCU) have been protesting the large rent hikes of Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) facilities in the area. Some have increased their cost by 27% for the upcoming academic year.
DCU chaplain Fr Seamus McEntee told The Irish Catholic: “The whole issue is that right across Dublin, there’s a lack of student accommodation and a lack of regulation in that industry. It has an effect of marginalising students on low wages or come from families who are on low wages in Dublin or outside of Dublin as well in particular.”
He said students are put under “mental stress” while trying to study because many are forced to commute long distances as they can’t live close to their college, and in turn are not able to fully avail of services such as libraries.
Students in the university were originally paying €7,000 for an academic year in accommodation run by Shanowen Student Residences in Santry. This will increase to €9,000 in the upcoming year.
Another chaplain in the university, Fr Paul Hampson, said he “couldn’t believe” the hikes, but said they can be put into the context of the housing crisis nationwide, saying: “It’s matched with the price of properties that have recently gone back up to almost Celtic Tiger era.”
Fr Paul added that he was impressed by the “resilience” of some students, who would not want to put pressure on their parents to pay fees, and work over the summer to put a dent in the cost of registration, books and rent.
Campus
Dublin Institute of Technology chaplain Fr Alan Hilliard said that when students aren’t able to find affordable accommodation close to their campus “there’s a knock on effect for things like involvement in the life of the college, because they’re travelling so much to an outlying part of the city”.
He added that some students are also “stung in scams”, particularly international students who are promised accommodation on arrival and find it doesn’t exist after paying a deposit.
“If they are spending big money on rent they’re foregoing money on things like food.”
DCU students protested outside the Dáil in their final demonstration of this academic year, but the future SU have stated they will continue protests next year. Students were dressed as cows because they say the Government see them as ‘cash cows’.
Students in PBSAs do not have the same tenant rights as public renters, don’t need notification of eviction and can’t complain to the Residential Tenancies Board.