Protest highlights lack of student accommodation in Cork

Students at University College Cork (UCC) hung bedsheets at locations around the city last night to draw attention to the accommodation crisis in the run up to next week’s General Election.

The 56 sheets, containing written reminders to candidates that students would be voting for better student housing, were hung at prominent sites including the Wilton Road roundabout, St Patrick’s Bridge in the city centre, UCC properties, and beside Kent Station.

Students in the city celebrated their traditional annual ‘College Christmas’ event last night and banners were hung in the early hours of the morning, after the festivities.

UCC Students Union said they wanted to highlight the dire need for affordable student accommodation.

The union pointed to a UCCSU Cost of Living Report carried out earlier this year which identified housing as the most significant financial pressure for the student population.

The study found that with almost two thirds of UCC students renting, 86% of them experienced a rent increase in 2023.

UCCSU President Katie Halpin-Hill said It was critical that the shortage of affordable purpose-built accommodation was tackled and that a new approach was needed:

“Too many students are forced to pay rents they cannot afford,” Ms Halpin-Hill said.

The UCCSU president said that the current supply is not sustainable for students in the city.

“82% of purpose-built student accommodation in Cork City is privately-owned; this over-reliance on the private market to provide for students is not sustainable and is driving prices up for students and the wider community alike.

“The next government must invest in publicly-owned student accommodation, and universities must be supported to take a leading role in the provision of this. Until then, students will continue to be exploited as a target for landlords and premium accommodation providers”, Ms Halpin-Hill added.

The union said it was urging candidates to address the student housing crisis as a priority.

It said the national deficit of 30,000 student beds needed to be dealt with as a matter of urgency by the next government, which had a responsibility to ensure that access to third-level education is not hindered by spiralling rents that students cannot afford.