Around three hundred students protested in Dublin city centre, calling on the government to build student accommodation and cut fees for third-level students, reports RTE.
Chris Clifford, president of the Union of Students in Ireland, told RTÉ News he wants the government to spend 5% of the €65 billion budget surplus on student support.
“We looking for €2.7 billion for the future of this country, so that’s to target publicly built student accommodation, to target the contribution fee,” Mr Clifford said, reports RTE.
The protest marched from Parnell Square to Merrion Square, where speakers included housing campaigner and academic Rory Hearn and opposition spokesmen Myráid Farrell TD of Sinn Féin, Labor TD Audhán Ó Riordan and People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett.
Mr Hearne told the students: “We need to see housing treated as a human right in this country, for too long it has been treated as an investment asset, you, the students, have been turned into an investment commodity for global wealth funds and purpose built student accommodation,” reports RTE.
Speaking to RTÉ News, Alex Balfe, President of the students union at Maynooth University, said: “If a student is lucky enough to find a room in a house they’re paying €800 or €900 a month and we’ve got multiple complaints about mould in rooms, about unsafe landlords,” reports RTE.
Ashley Igwe is an architecture student at Technical University Dublin and was present during the protest, he said: “The fact that I have to commute two hours every single day, one way, so that makes a total of four hours. It’s unacceptable. I’m in my fourth year of college, the fact I’ve been doing this for four years is absolutely draining,” reports RTE.
Students are struggling with high costs and long commutes to college due to lack of available housing, according to Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald’s statement in the Dáil.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.