University of Galway students protest cost of living crisis in ‘sleep out’

By Aoibhé Hopkins

In a protest against the student housing and cost of living crisis University of Galway students spent the night in Eyre Square, despite harrowing weather conditions caused by Storm Agnes.

From 18:00 Wednesday evening to 06:00 Thursday morning, students gathered in Eyre Square in an effort to demonstrate the direct effects the cost of living crisis has on university students.   

Student Union President Dean Kenny said, ‘‘The campout went fairly well, we had 50 or 60 people at the rallies and at least 10 camping out, which was a great crowd considering the weather and wind.”

“Two of us stayed awake the whole time to make sure no one caused hassle with us, and in fairness we had no bother at all,’’ Kenny added.

Kenny also acknowledged the support they received from an Garda Síochána saying, “I have to give a special mention to the guards who were absolutely fantastic. There was a paddywagon coming down by the Skeff every 45 minutes to an hour, minimum, to check if we were alright.”

Public Support

Kenny highlighted the support from the public: ‘‘A lot of people were coming up and identifying with us even though they weren’t students, so it shows it’s not just a student problem. People trying to raise young families, working professionals trying to get into the property market.”

According to Kenny, the housing crisis goes beyond increasing prices, “We are finding – which is a lot more worrying – that price isn’t even the issue anymore, its availability. People will pay but they literally can’t get anywhere suitable. It’s very worrying but hopefully this will highlight what’s going on and make people realise that it’s not okay and it hasn’t gone away.”

Reason For The Protest

At 16.30 on Wednesday, students from the University of Galway gathered with members of their Student Union at the Quadrangle, to protest “the extortionate repeat fees and the price of the new accommodation in the University.”

Kenny said, “We have the highest repeat fee in the country. We want to show the University and Government that they need to tackle this head-on and take this seriously.

“We want more affordable purpose-built student accommodation, we want urgently needed digs legislation to be brought in to protect students.’’

The Student Union Postgraduate Officer, Fionn Sexton Connolly, added “This isn’t about publicity, this is about human rights.”

The students along with their union marched from the University into Eyre Square and set up their tents. Their aim was to show the government the effect the current cost of living crisis has on students. 

A survey conducted by University of Galway’s Students Union found that 30% of over 2,000 responses stated that they had not secured suitable accommodation for the current semester.

Kenny explained the findings: ‘’They’re living on couches, living in hostels, driving ridiculous lengths every day. A person speaking to me last week was driving seven hours each day, it’s not feasible, it’s not sustainable.’’’

He concluded, ‘’This housing crisis is not just a housing crisis, it’s a living crisis. It affects every single one of us.”