AS THOUSANDS of secondary students poured into the University of Limerick’s Castletroy campus for this Thursday’s (October 17) open day to get a glimpse at what life at UL could be like, those already attending the institution turned out to make a statement about what their lives are like.
An assortment of students, led by student representative body UL Student Life, choose the UL open day as their opportunity to send a message about the rising cost of living and a lack of affordable student accommodation.
According to Ronan Cahill, UL Student life president, UL’s continued expansion leaves students struggling to secure an affordable place to stay.
He told this newspaper that protesters took to the Castletroy campus “to send a message to the university and the wider community that the state of the accommodation crisis at this point is not acceptable”.
The protest at UL comes alongside a larger nationwide walkout organised by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) to highlight the cost of living crisis for students across Ireland.
The UL student president, who positioned protesters in groups at each of the university’s entrances, said that the accommodation crisis for students has “really, really gone past boiling point”.
“We need some action – not just from the university, but from the government – to really start tackling this crisis. At the moment, the lack of accommodation and the struggle to find a bed is really presenting a barrier to education for students,” he said.
“At this stage, it’s fair to say that education is not a privilege, it’s a right. And, at the moment, that right is being denied because of a lack of accommodation.”
Mr Cahill hit out at the fact that, despite a drip-feeding of new student beds at the university, there has been “a continuous increase in the amount of students every year for the last number of years”.
“We’ve added no new beds this year. We added 80 beds last year, and that’s it.”
Sleeping on couches
One student attending the protest, Síofra Foley, said that some of her friends have been forced to sleep on couches, including her own, to be able to make classes on time.
“They might be staying at my house and then staying at another’s friend’s house another night, it’s very draining,” she explained.
Another UL student, Kyle O’Sullivan, said that the cost of accommodation in Limerick is a significant barrier for those attending UL.
“A lot of people here work part-time jobs, which is fine, but they can’t really survive on how much they’re actually being charged (for rent). Even having that cost of living on top of rent, and needing to find something to eat, it doesn’t suit them at all.”
Echoing the student president’s sentiments on the university’s bed to student ratio, Kyle said that it’s “disgraceful that they’re taking so many students on without having an adequate accommodation plan”.
