Ninth Level Ireland

“Unaffordable accommodation has resulted in record levels of homelessness among students who are sleeping on couches or forced to commute up to four hours a day, the Dáil has been told. People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said the situation was ‘absolutely dire’ for students who are being forced to stay in hotels where they have to pay up to €400 a week …” (more)

[Marie O’Halloran, Irish Times, 15 September]

“High rental prices and a severe shortage of available accommodation is seeing more students opting to commute to their universities from next month onwards …” (more)

[Amy Blaney, Independent, 20 August]

“Many Irish people do not want to return to the way they worked or commuted before Covid-19 and want a greener alternative. That is according to a national survey of 1,000 adults conducted last month by Science Foundation Ireland to mark Science Week 2020 …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 9 November]

“Some Trinity students are forgoing Dublin accommodation this semester, opting instead for lengthy commutes to save money as Trinity shifts heavily online. In an email to the college community on September 18th, Provost Patrick Prendergast confirmed that all teaching and learning not requiring an in-person presence will be moved online due to tightened coronavirus restrictions …” (more)

[Jane Cook, University Times, 21 September]

“As the anticipation of a new, post-coronavirus academic year approaches, many students who commute to University College Dublin (UCD) are facing the prospect of new and additional challenges. Following this week’s announcement that Trinity College Dublin is working with Dublin City Council to improve infrastructure for students walking and cycling in the wake of the pandemic, questions are being raised over the future difficulties likely to be faced by many UCD students who commute, and what may be done to help them in September …” (more)

[Gemma Farrell, College Tribune, 21 June]

“Lorna Fitzpatrick, USI president, tells us how students are spending up to 30 hours a week commuting to college because they can’t afford the high cost of accommodation …” (podcast)

[RTÉ – This Week, 25 August]

“When Adrasteia Hughes accepted her offer of a place studying sociology and linguistics at UCD, she had no idea of just how draining the daily commute would be. She spends up to four hours each day on buses and trains in rush-hour traffic to get from her home in Co Kildare to the campus at Belfield and back again …” (more)

[Lynn Rusk and Jade Wilson, Irish Times, 17 August]

“Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has suggested it could be ‘make sense’ to extend the MetroLink line to UCD and on to Sandyford in future years. His remarks came as he was challenged in the Dáil on the current plan for the Metro Line to stop at Charlemont in the south city and the abandonment of the proposal to continue it along the existing Luas Green Line to Sandyford …” (more)

[Cormac McQuinn, Independent, 26 March]

“The fact that there was no bus that directly connected UCD, Trinity, DIT and DCU, had been the bane of students’ life in the capital for decades, but the newest Dublin Bus route finally resolves the third level bugbear. Until today there were no direct routes between the universities, other than the number 11, which is accessible only by a hike to Clonskeigh Road at the edge of UCD’s 330 acres …” (more)

[Mícheál Ó Scannáil, Independent, 24 March]

“As we partake in the annual trudge towards the end of the season of bleak and bleary weather, students across Trinity are gritting their teeth and persevering through the last of the dark and dreary mornings in anticipation of the inevitable radiance of exam season …” (more)

[Cian Crowe, University Times, 2 March]

“A recent survey published in the Connacht Tribune shows that 1 in 3 students are commuting to college in Galway. The survey was carried out with students of NUI Galway and Galway–Mayo Institute of Technology …” (more)

[Cathriona Coleman, SIN, 11 November]

“As the price of rent continues to rise, more and more students are choosing to commute long distances to college every day. From studying to socialising, the life of a student can be busy and jam-packed. While many can go straight home nearby after lectures to cook and sleep, other students face a two to three-hour bus journey back home …” (more)

[Rachel Farrell, Independent, 17 June]

“UCD have received €413,795.60 net revenue from the sale of parking permits from August 2015 to September 2016. This does not include the €125,057.73 revenue from parking meters from September 2015 to August 2016. The permits were introduced last year to ‘to ensure that car parking is only used by members of the University community and as a means of controlling demand’ according to UCD commuting services …” (more)

[Roisin Guyett-Nicholson, University Observer, 29 November]

“The accommodation crisis currently sweeping through Ireland’s third level students means that for some, commuting to college from their family home via car or public transport is the only viable option. ‘Commuter culture’ often has the effect of creating a 9-5 way of life in universities, meaning students are regularly forced to miss out on activities offered after lectures end …” (more)

[Michelle Beazley, Irish Times, 29 September]

“Three quarters of University College Dublin (UCD) students and staff either walk, cycle or use public transport to get to Belfield, it has emerged …” (more)

[Sorcha Corcoran, Business and Leadership, 27 January]

“Crawling through Ballymun today it occurred to me how little has changed despite ‘The 21st Century’. As the economy recovers there is a noticeable increase in traffic volumes especially at rush hour …” (more)

[educationandstuff, 8 October]