The University should bring its vacant buildings into use as student accommodation: Adrian Curran
Inside view of the University of Galway Quadrangle. Photo: Yue Qiu
In a press release, the People Before Profit candidate for Galway City Central, Adrian Curran, criticised the University of Galway for taking 242 bed spaces on lease from the private sector.
He said it was another symptom of the housing system’s breakdown.
“This has sadly become necessary because of the refusal of the state to build adequate student accommodation,” said Mr Curran.
“It is reminiscent of the HAP system – effectively public money going into private landlord pockets with no long-term benefit to society,” he added.
The Nuns Island Masterplan
Mr Curran believes that if the university brings empty buildings they own as affordable student accommodation, they could revitalise the Nuns’ Island area, provide the much-needed beds for students and free up space in Galway’s private rental sector.
“The University owns practically an entire neighbourhood of vacant buildings in Nuns’ Island that should have been developed years ago as student accommodation,” said Mr Curran.
When asked about the subject, Mr John Connolly, city councillor for Galway City West, said, “There is a Nuns’ Island master plan which includes student accommodation.”
“However, it will not be solely for student accommodation. We should look at the master plan to improve the overall educational facilities of the university,” he added.
Plans from the University
When contacted, the University of Galway said that they cannot set out any detail publicly concerning the scheme they are working on while discussions are ongoing. However, they mentioned it is not Nuns’ Island.
A spokesperson for the University of Galway said, “The University of Galway has been to the forefront in pursuing policies that would enable lower cost or subsidised accommodation for students.”
“The University also welcomes the recent announcement of a new policy around subsidised student accommodation by the Government. We are approved in principle for a student accommodation lease scheme at another location in the city,” they added.
The University of Galway also affirmed that due diligence is being carried out on the appropriate real estate.
Adrian Curran concluded his argument and said, “People Before Profit’s position is clear. We need a state construction company to build public housing on public land, including student accommodation.”
“We must end the reliance on private sector profiteers for the provision of the most essential public services,” he added.
