Concern increases as students cry out for accommodation

Students are finding it increasingly difficult to secure accommodation in Letterkenny, this year, with the student union fielding accommodation calls from people from as far back as February hoping to find a room, according to the Student Union President. 

Currently there are only fourteen properties on daft.ie for rent and this ranges from €950 for a two-bedroom apartment to €1,500 for a four bedroom house with three bathrooms. 

Student Union President, Barry Breslin said one of their bigger accommodation suppliers has pulled out this year which makes the situation worse this year. Concerns among the student community have increased as the academic year steadily approaches.  

He said: “People know accommodation is an issue.”

Last year, many students who came to the county to study secured rooms in hotels and this trend is set to continue this year: “We do have hotel rates still going strong and if anything that shows it worked last year so I can’t see why we would stop it. Hotels will still be on offer with students’ rates,” he said. 

To date, the student accommodation has not heard of anyone having to travel long distances to the college. 

“The phone hasn’t stopped. We have a new welfare officer and that is all he has time to do,” he said. 

Normally students stay within a 5k radius of ATU Donegal which is Letterkenny-based but Barry says he has seen this distance extend over the last period. 

A poster campaign has also been set up to try and get the message out there that students are searching for places to stay. A new scheme called rent-a-room’ is underway with students hoping that the campaign will see them secure a room in someone’s house. The rent-a-room scheme can see you earn up to €14,000 per year tax-free if you rent a room in your house to private tenants. You can also get the tax relief if you rent out a self-contained unit such as a basement flat or a converted garage attached to your home. 

“Obviously we advocate the most affordable as possible and we are aware of the cost of energy and things like that but with having students in your house we are aware that with timetables in ATU Donegal it is mostly four days a week,” he said. 

He added that students prefer to experience student life rather than staying in the home. 

“We simply want to get students a spot so if you have a preference let us know and we will try to get a student a house,” he said. 

The number of students attending Donegal institutions stands at 2,688 of which 24 are apprentice students, 2,478 are undergraduates and 186 are postgraduate students.