A third of all students in Ireland say that they are experiencing serious or very serious financial problems.
That is according the latest Eurostudent survey, which shows that accommodation is the largest single expenditure for Irish students in higher education.
The average spend on accommodation for students is €469 and represents approximately 35% of all expenditure.
The overall average monthly income for all students in the country was €1,122.
This represents a monthly shortfall of €218 as the overall average monthly expenditure was €1,340.
The study was extremely extensive, getting responses from 21,000 students across Ireland, almost 10% of the overall number of students in the country.
18% of those surveyed said they are intending to go abroad for a temporary study period in the future, citing financial constraints as a major factor for the decision.
Independent TD for Laois/Offaly Carol Nolan sits as a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
Deputy Nolan cited the Eurostudent survey when speaking out about what she called a “third level student accommodation crisis.”
The Independent TD said the college experience has been transformed into a “daily commuter drudge characterised by massive expense and precarious legal rights for thousands of young people throughout the state.”
Deputy Nolan went on to say that indicators from the Eurostudent report “should have raised alarm bells within Government” about the depth and scale of the accommodation affordability and access problems.
“I have been making the point for some time now that there is a real danger around third level education becoming deeply exclusionary and the preserve of high-income families,” she said.
“Unfortunately, despite all the talk we hear of increased grants and student supports almost nothing has been done to fundamentally address the accommodation crisis, which in turn is creating enormous expense and stress for students and families.
“We also know that even in situations where students can acquire digs, the legal rights are far from robust and many students simply have to accept what they are given regardless of the cost.
“If we are serious about retaining our students and not forcing them to the UK or elsewhere then Government has to demonstrate a seriousness about this crisis that has been spectacularly absent to date.”
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