Students’ unions in Ireland are being forced to “fill in the cracks” created by issues such as underfunding, a lack of affordable student accommodation and student mental health issues, politicians have said.
Ireland’s student leaders this week met Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Wicklow TD Stephen Donnelly for a student “think-in” in Leinster House.
In a press statement released after the event, Donnelly said: “I was genuinely surprised that a meeting like this had never happened before. It seems like a ‘no brainer’.”
“It was extremely important to get the perspective of the Student Unions on the various crises that their members face every day”, he said. “What is abundantly clear now is that student unions in Ireland are stretched to breaking point and the mood on campuses is dark.”
“Students deal with accommodation problems given the astronomical rent costs. When it comes to their health there is a serious shortage of psychotherapy and psychiatric services”, he said.
In August, a survey carried out by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) found that almost one third of students have diagnosed mental health issues. More than one third of students suffer from high levels of anxiety.
“One of their concerns I was most struck by was the fact that many students are trying to hold down full-time jobs, just to afford their college place”, Donnelly said.
Last month, a survey carried out by the Irish League of Credit Unions found that more than half of students in Ireland skip lectures for paid work, an increase from one in five in 2017.
In addition, earlier this month, research conducted by Bank of Ireland found that students have an average of under €10 per day in disposable income.
“What we’re seeing”, Donnelly said, “is that Student Unions are increasingly being forced to step in to fill in the cracks. One union officer told me that they were effectively acting as a housing agency, such is the depth of the challenge facing students in accessing accommodation”.
Earlier this year, The University Times reported that less than seven per cent of purpose-built student accommodation developed in Dublin since 2016 is available for less than €840 per month.
“The sad fact is that all these challenges added up mean that students are blocked from reaching their full potential”, Donnelly added. “We know that the first step to tackling any problem is to talk about it. All too often the voices of students are ignored and challenges like the ones we discussed are left to fester until they become insurmountable.”
“That’s why meetings like ours are so important. Colleges and Universities are a hotbed of ideas and solutions – it’s time we as legislators acknowledge that and tap into them.”
