'An endless cycle' - Students on impact of accommodation crisis

With the new academic year getting underway, third-level students across the country are grappling with long daily journeys because they cannot find or afford accommodation near their campuses.

Some students told RTÉ they are spending up to four hours a day travelling to and from college, with long commutes affecting their sleep, studies and social lives.

Laura Staroń is a second-year Pharmacy Technician Studies student at Technological University Dublin (TUD) who commutes from Thurles, Co Tipperary, to attend college.

Rent in Dublin is outside Laura's budget. Unable to find affordable accommodation, she decided commuting was her only option.

While searching for somewhere to live, Laura said rooms or digs she found were generally around €700 a month.

Even when she found somewhere within her price range, she said the level of demand meant rooms could quickly be taken by another student.

Without accommodation in Dublin, a 9am lecture can mean getting up as early as 4.30am to catch the 6.15am train from Thurles.

"Every day you'd be there roughly from 9am to 5pm and you'd be just in this endless cycle of getting up at half four, coming back at 10pm and getting no more than six hours of sleep every day and just getting on top of your study and getting your homework done," Laura said.

Laura's experience comes as universities warn that a lack of affordable accommodation is forcing more students into long-distance commutes.

University College Cork (UCC) president John O'Halloran said this week that the lack of affordable student accommodation was a "really big issue", with students increasingly commuting to the university from west Cork, north Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Kerry, because rents in Cork city were beyond their reach.

UCC said it has written to some private landlords asking them to reduce rents after identifying properties within walking distance of the university with vacancy rates of up to 40%, which it believes is primarily due to the prices being sought.

The National Student Accommodation Strategy, published earlier this year, estimates there is an existing deficit of 15,000 student beds, which it says is contributing to unsustainably long commutes for some students.

The strategy sets out a plan to support the delivery of 42,000 additional student beds by 2035, through a combination of purpose-built student accommodation and an expansion of rent-a-room accommodation.

The strategy considers daily commuting of more than three hours in total unsustainable and says students' accommodation needs have not been met where such journeys are required.

20 hours a week

For some students, the hours spent commuting can also affect how they are able to study.

Keira Pedersen is a second-year Jewellery and Objects student at NCAD in Dublin. Her journey from Dunsany, Co Meath, involves two buses and can mean spending up to four hours travelling each day.

Keira said she has tried to find affordable accommodation in Dublin but has had no luck.

"I just sat for an hour looking at loads of different websites. I just saw like €300 a week, €800 for a bed in a room with other people."

As much of Keira's coursework is practical, she is required to be on campus for studio days.

"I have to wake up at 6am and only get home at 6.30pm and have to be asleep by 9pm."

The practical nature of Keira's course means much of the time she spends commuting cannot be put towards her college work.

"I thought at the beginning, I can practice my drawing, but it's too bumpy. I could be using the time, but there's nothing to do."

This year, Keira has four studio days each week, as well as lectures on Wednesdays. She estimates this will mean spending around 20 hours a week travelling to and from college.

On days when she only has lectures, Keira can spend four hours commuting for a one-hour class. The timing of public transport can also leave her with a choice between arriving well before a lecture begins or arriving late.

"I have to either get there an hour and a half early, which I would usually do, or 30 minutes late, but the lecture is only an hour long."

'If the bus shows up’

Leen Darwich, a first-year science student at University College Dublin (UCD), also spends around four hours a day commuting from Kilcock, Co Kildare.

For a 9am class, Leen gets up at 5am and leaves home at around 6.20am, taking one bus into Dublin city and another to UCD.

"That takes two hours. If the bus shows up," Leen said.

Leen said UCD student accommodation was too expensive for her, while attempts to find cheaper digs in Dublin were unsuccessful.

She attended around five viewings before starting college but was unable to secure a room.

"They're all either too expensive or they get taken right away," she said.

For Leen, the reliability of public transport can make an already long journey even longer.

"I wouldn't mind it so much if the buses would actually show up, but so often they just don't, or they're full, so they drive by."

With 9am classes five days a week, she said the commute has left her struggling with sleep.

"The academic aspect, the biggest problem is I'm so sleep deprived because I have to wake up at five and I have 9am lectures five days a week and I don't finish till the afternoon. So, I barely get time to be at home," she added.

College life shaped by timetables

Leen said her commute also limits how she can take part in the social side of college.

"The buses don't run after a certain time. So, I can't stay out too late unless I have someone to stay with."

She said living closer to UCD would give her more flexibility to take part in college life.

"I'd be able to stay out and meet people or even go home after class and then go back out and socialise, versus I have to be out all day if I want to do something after class."

Laura said her commute has similarly made it difficult to take part in college life outside of classes.

"In terms of making friends, it's quite difficult outside of college because I have to build my life around my college commute, which is not ideal," Laura said.

During her first year, Laura joined TUD's Dungeons and Dragons society but said the timing of her last train made attending meetings difficult. On one occasion, she made it with just five minutes to spare, avoiding being stranded in Dublin overnight.

"I was exhausted and I was panting so loudly. I was terrified that I wasn't going to make it."