University College Dublin has sent a plea to its alumni asking them to consider renting spare rooms to students ahead of the college year starting next month, as thousands of students face huge pressure to find housing.
In an email to alumni on Thursday evening, UCD said students were facing a “huge challenge” finding rental accommodation for the upcoming college year, which could pose a “barrier” to some attending university.
The email said alumni had “a chance to enhance a student’s entire college experience, and give back to the UCD community”. The south Dublin university runs an online site where rooms can be advertised to students.
Maynooth University issued a similar appeal to homeowners living near the Co Kildare university. In leaflets sent to nearby homes in recent weeks, the university said it was running a free service for landlords or homeowners to advertise properties or rooms to university students.
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The Department of Further and Higher Education has said a key plank of its plans to house students this coming term — the offer of State funding for universities and colleges to “repurpose” existing buildings — has run into difficulties, including the increased demand for shelter from Ukrainians.
Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris wrote to third-level institutions on February 24th offering financial backing if “local solutions can be found”.
Biggest barrier
Student leaders say the lack of accommodation is now the single biggest barrier to third-level education. However, the department said there had been “a significant increase in the number of bed spaces available”.
“The year-end 2019 figures showed a total of 23,804 bed spaces, either completed or in the planning and development process,” a spokesman for the department said.
“By the end of 2020, this figure had risen to 26,343. The number of planning applications, applications granted and work on site all continue to increase, with the total potential figure as of Q4 2021 standing at 27,248.
“The number of beds being provided currently by higher education institutions’ on-campus college accommodation is 14,500. But the department is now prioritising the construction of on-campus, purpose-built student accommodation.”
Technological universities also now have “a legislative basis for borrowing for the provision of student accommodation”, he added. Technical universities are “preparing business cases for the department to consider”.
The spokesman also confirmed it was “likely” the State would step in to help fund universities and colleges where soaring construction costs have stalled purpose-built accommodation projects.
The department also claimed universities and colleges would already be able to offer “an additional 1,200 beds” for students this year compared with last year.
