Ninth Level Ireland

“The two main news stories at the forefront of student housing affairs this week appear side by side as a strange oxymoron. Firstly, the news that Dublin City Council granted permission for over 1,000 student beds to be offered as short-term lets this year. Accompanying this are grim accounts of a sleepout organised by the Union of Students Ireland (USI) outside the Dáil, protesting the crisis shortage of student accommodation …” (more)

[Caoimhe Weakliam, University Times, 25 September]

“All UCC graduates of the class of 2020-21 were virtually conferred between April 2020 – July 2021. That was of course because on-campus graduations could not occur due to restrictions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdown …” (more)

[James Clancy, CorkBeo, 25 September]

“Two years ago Dublin City University announced it was about to build ‘affordable’ accommodation for 1,240 students at its Glasnevin campus. It had full planning permission and finance in place – all that remained was for the building to start. It never did …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 24 September]

“Bus routes serving UCD are some of the most complained about routes in Dublin, with the 41X route operating between University College Dublin and Swords recording the highest number of complaints from commuters in 2020 …” (more)

[Hugh Dooley, College Tribune, 24 September]

“Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has engaged with universities and colleges on the use of Covid-19 antigen testing in third-level institutions; the plans that are in place for the roll-out of antigen testing on college campuses; the timeline for any such roll-out; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 23 September]

“Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will report on the most recent meeting of the Working Group on Student Accommodation; the details of the immediate supports planned to tackle the student accommodation crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 23 September]

“As a housing crisis grips Ireland’s capital, The new UCD accommodation in the newly-opened UCD Village can cost students upwards of €14,000 a school year, with renters in ‘Studio’, ‘Gold’, ‘Platinum’, and ‘Penthouse’ spaces paying the most. Students staying in Roebuck Castle take the top overall spot, dropping €1,323.97 a month for a room in Belfield’s only catered accommodation bloc …” (more)

[Jack McGee, College Tribune, 24 September]

“The Department of Further and Higher Education has said it will host a meeting of college presidents next week to discuss the student accommodation issue. The department said it has been engaging with the Department of Housing on a number of issues, including the use of privately-owned student accommodation being used for other purposes …” (more)

[Samantha Libreri, RTÉ News, 24 September]

“Trinity has moved its investment portfolio to a new, ‘climate-conscious’ fund to ‘enhance the climate risk and sustainability profile of the Endowment Fund’. Earlier this year, The University Times reported that College still had shares worth at least €8 million in companies directly involved in fossil fuel activities, despite saying it would divest from such companies several years ago …” (more)

[Emer Moreau, University Times, 24 September]

“An Irish university has told students that campus security may forcibly remove them from lectures if they refuse to wear a face coverings or leave a classroom, as part of plans to ensure the safe return of classes this year. In an email circulated to students in one faculty in recent weeks, University College Cork told students that lecturers will ask them to wear a mask or leave the lecture hall …” (more)

[Stephen McDermott, TheJournal.ie, 24 September]

“Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) will officially install former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as its first female Chancellor at a special ceremony tomorrow morning. Ms Clinton is the University’s 11th Chancellor and was appointed to the position in January 2020 on a five-year term …” (more)

[Paul Hyland, Independent, 23 September]

“Turning student accommodation into rooms for tourists is ‘contrary’ to government policy at a time of an acute crisis, the Dáil has heard. Labour leader Alan Kelly told Tánaiste Leo Varadkar that, in Dublin, developers of luxury student apartments are now trying to change their planning permission so they can be used as hotels for tourists …” (more)

[Daniel McConnell, Irish Examiner, 23 September]

“Many students who are on campus for just three days a week are opting to commute long distances to college rather than pay for housing, according to an accommodations officer at Munster Technological University (MTU) in Cork …” (more)

[Olivia Kelleher, Irish Times, 23 September]

“Jim O’Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he will take to ensure that in-person lectures at a university (details supplied) recommence in alignment with other third-level institutions …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 22 September]

“Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the person or body which determines whether graduation ceremonies will be held in person or online; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 22 September]

“The Government must declare shortages of student housing and high rents an emergency as students consider deferring or dropping out of college, the Union of Students of Ireland (USI) has said. Students held a demonstration outside the Dáil on Wednesday as part of an overnight sleep-out and campaign dubbed ‘No Keys, No Degrees’ to put pressure on the Government to take urgent action …” (more)

[Simon Carswell, Irish Times, 23 September]

“Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said the government is ‘very much aware’ of the crisis in student accommodation and that it is working to prevent purpose-built student apartments being used for tourists. A student protest using the slogan ‘No Keys, No Degrees’ is being held outside Leinster House this afternoon …” (more)

[Rónán Duffy, TheJournal.ie, 23 September]

“University College Dublin has issued a public tender to Ireland’s biggest banks as AIB’s time in Belfield has come to an end after 22 years with the campus bank being empty for the first time since 1973 …” (more)

[Hugh Dooley, College Tribune, 23 September]

“The University of Limerick is rolling out mandatory sexual consent classes for all incoming first years in a bid to change campus culture and encourage students to speak out. Workshops in the form of online facilitator training are being provided to all students as part of a new nationwide effort to tackle sexual violence in third level institutions in Ireland …” (more)

[Cian Ó Broin, Limerick Leader, 23 September]

“Two Irish universities have been named among the world’s top 100 for graduate employability. Global higher education analysis firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has today released its annual QS Graduate Employability Rankings for 2022 …” (more)

[Steven Heaney, Irish Examiner, 23 September]