The ongoing national accommodation crisis has put the spotlight on third-level institutions as students head into the new academic year next week.
University of Galway has renewed a campaign urging people to avail of the Government's Rent-a-Room Scheme.
Ríona O'Connor, from Kildare, is working at the college bar all summer ahead of her final year studying Economics and Global Media.
She recalls one of her worst renting experiences in Galway city.
"Last year, I was in a house in Galway city, so quite central. I was paying over €600 for the room. It was an extension on a house, and the window faced into the kitchen, so I didn't really have much privacy or much lighting in the room itself," she said.
"There were damp conditions. The worst part was about six months into living there, the water damage got so bad in the upstairs bathroom that the roof actually collapsed outside my room door, and it took a while for the landlord to actually get everything fixed.
"It just upended a lot of my day to day life during that period of time. So, although Galway is a fun, great place to live as a student, overall the experience of renting has taken a great toll on my mental health."
Molly Hickey is from Laois and in her final year of Human Rights studies.
"At the moment, I'm actually couch surfing. I lost my accommodation mid-July, and realised I would not have anywhere for the academic year. I've spent the last four or five weeks trying to find somewhere," she said.
"I went to viewings where the room has been a grand a month, and also been told if you take this room, you have to be out by May, because there will be Airbnb happening during the summer."
Calls for better transportation
The Students' Union at University of Galway says that landlords are favouring Airbnb's over student lets.
"To address this crisis, I think there's a number of steps that need to be taken. Firstly, for commuters, I think we need more public transportation in and out of Galway city," said Paddy Marnane, Student Union Welfare Officer.
"Along with that, we're having a lot of housing being gobbled up by Airbnb at the minute. At present, there's well over 1,000 properties on Airbnb, whereas there's only 111 to rent on Daft.ie, and that's across the whole of Galway county.
"We need to put more pressure on the Government, I suppose, to eliminate Airbnb in student towns that also doubled up as tourist towns as well," he added.
There are almost 2,000 beds on campus ranging from €400 per month to high end accommodation at €900. It's very much a lottery who gets these rooms.
In a statement, University of Galway says it has been running an awareness campaign for the fourth summer in a row to encourage homeowners and landlords to consider advertising a property or a room to rent.
"Our accommodation office has been here for decades but we really sharpened its focus in 2022 to become a dedicated advisory service, including to promote options for students and the opportunities for homeowners and landlords," said Dean of Students Ciara Meehan.
"The team provides these services all year, responding to thousands of student queries by phone, email and at our in-person helpdesk, while also working continuously with the wider community to source and expand rental opportunities.
"If you take the last year alone, the team handled roughly 1,700 emails and in-person queries last September and then they went on this summer to run a campaign involving a drop of over 60,000 flyers across Galway and Clare to advertise the Rent-a-Room scheme.
"Our work supports students directly and builds the networks they rely on. We would encourage anyone who has thought of renting to advertise for free with us; not only would you earn extra income, but you would also play a vital role in helping a young person progress in life."
'Behind, burnt out, a bit embarrassed'
However, for people like Kosi Okeke, from Co Westmeath, after a year of crippling rent and long hours working on minimum wage, he has decided to pack in his Biomedical Science degree.
"I was working about 35 to 40 hours a week in the first semester to try to pay for accommodation, for a standard of living.
"I was very stressed out, and my life took a hit on the social aspect of what college life should be, and I just wasn't socialising really.
"It's a very lonely type of time to be in, and then you try to struggle to keep everything together as well," he added.
Mr Okeke talked over his decision to quit college with his parents and he has decided to take a year out to work close to home.
"I feel behind. I feel burnt out. I feel a bit embarrassed because I feel like I should be able to go through things very smoothly, but it doesn't work like that," he said.
"I think I need to take time to gather my thoughts and then wherever we are next year, next academic year, that's where we go. I met nice people in Galway, I played basketball and did other extra curricular stuff, and lots of people were struggling like me. I wasn't alone and it helps to make that connection."
Jack Molloy is from Sligo and just finished his degree in Economics, Law and Politics. He has had a positive experience of renting in Galway but admits he has been fortunate.
"I've been incredibly lucky. I've been staying in the same apartment building for the past four years. But I know so many people, most of my friends who have struggled throughout. I've hit the jackpot really for Galway," he said.
"When you look at all the people who want to come to Galway and experience the great life they can have here in college, it's just unattainable right now."
Aryan Thakur is an international student from India and is completing a Masters in Business Analytics at the University of Galway.
He is repaying a €30,000 loan, and took time out from hotel work in Salthill to speak to RTÉ News.
Mr Thakur has grim memories of being illegally locked into a year's rental in a house with eight random people.
"It was really, really tough. I booked a student hostel for two weeks when I came here first because I had nowhere to go. Then I found this house which would accommodate eight people, but I didn't know the situation would get worse," he said.
"They told me, if you want, we can give it, but you'll have to pay four months of rent straight away. That was €650 per head. That's €2,600 per person.
"The worst part is the rent was for first month, eleventh month and the twelfth month, plus a security deposit. So they lock you in for a year by taking the money in advance, because they know they are not going to provide for you for that, and you will try to leave, but you can't because you have paid the last two months rent. That's how they scammed me."
Mr Thakur said the whole experience had a big affect on his mental health.
"We're coming from a country where we have to take an education loan to come here, and since we are international students, we pay twice as much as an Irish person here studying.
"We pay €20,000 a year. They pay €10,000, that's all. We are already paying double. We are not the cash cows here and then we are the ones who are suffering for accommodation."
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Tommy Rice, from Cratloe in Co Clare, is studying politics and economics. He holds down a job in construction to help towards his rent of €750 a month.
He says the situation is desperate and leaves him "exhausted, broke and angry".
"Most of my friends are working like me and it's really tough, because we have to balance working extortionately high hours, typically for a minimum wage," he said.
"We have to work quite a lot, and when we pay the rent, there's very little left over. You're exhausted, you're broke and angry."
Mr Rice says the future for students across the country is bleak.
"I think there's this depressing realisation across our age group that we're not going to own our own house. It's very unlikely that we will, and that's reflected in rent," he said.
"That's reflected in prices across the board, everything is just extortionately expensive. I think it's a pretty depressing outlook on life, being 21 years old, seeing how bad everything is now, as far as expenses go, and knowing that it's going to get worse, more than likely.
"It's not the happiest of thoughts," he added.
