Dáil debates

Wednesday, 13 October 2021

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Student Accommodation

11:50 am

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The student grants have not gone up for nearly a decade so the small patch-up we saw in the budget yesterday does not go anywhere near dealing with the cost of living and, in particular, the accommodation cost hikes we have seen. In three months alone this summer in Dublin there was a 5.6% rise in rents. That was on top of an almost 5% increase the year before. Average rents in Dublin are running at about €2,000 per month and then there is the issue of fees. The Union of Students in Ireland, ourselves and others have been asking the Minister to get rid of the student contribution charge. Whenever I meet students, whether they are undergraduates or postgraduates, they talk about the fees. People pay €15,000 to do psychology, allied health professional courses, PhDs and masters courses and then the bulk of students pay €3,000 a year. They asked the Minister to reduce the fees by even €1,000 but nothing was done. I put it to the Minister that with the cost of living increases, the fees and so on, student poverty has not been addressed in the budget in any way.

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