NW students face huge rents and commuting is not an option

Astronomical rents were raised in the Oireachtas this week as hundreds of pupils from the North West complete their A Level and Leaving Cert examinations and head into the summer hopeful of positive results and offers from the Central Applications Office (CAO).

Fianna Fáil Senator Robbie Gallagher, originally from Termon, raised the matter in the Seanad on Tuesday, referring to a recent report, which found that hundreds of students from rural parts of Ireland are now commuting daily to and from Dublin, Galway and Cork.

He remarked that this simply wasn’t an option for students from the North West who have no choice but to cough up huge rents in order to complete their studies.

He said: “I know one young lady renting a single bedroom in the basement of a house in the city who is paying €650 a month.

“It is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. While we have great sympathy for those students having to travel two to three hours a day each way, what about students from places like Donegal or Sligo where commuting is not an option. Third level education will not happen for them because of the lack of accommodation and the cost of it.”