A LETTERKENNY student has spoken of how she has been quoted €325 a week for a shared room.
Caitlin-Faye Maniti hopes to study in Maynooth in September but says she is struggling to find accommodation.
The Loreto Letterkenny student told Newstalk Breakfast how she is caught between a lack of supply of student accommodation and a rising demand.
“I live in Donegal and I hope to go to Maynooth University this September. I’ve been listing up for student accommodation villages since February. I’ve applied to at least four student villages and I have not received an offer since.”
She said a lack of supply and high demand of student accommodation is forcing students to consider commuting. For Caitlin-Faye that would mean more than a 400km round journey, and is something she says is simply not viable.
“Also what I am seeing is that there’s just crazy prices for accommodation. We’ve got to the situation now where students are commuting two hours to get to college.”
Others are considering B&Bs on a temporary basis. Caitlin-Faye, who is the outgoing president of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union, said, “My parents have heard from other parents that their children are looking for B&Bs near their campus, where they just stay three or four nights a week and then they come home for the weekend.
“They just live out of a suitcase,” she added.