Raising student contribution fees by \u20ac1,000 per year amidst a cost of living crisis will make a college education more inaccessible for some students and families, according to Social Democrats further and higher education spokesperson Jen Cummins.<\/p>\n
Deputy Cummins said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis proposal comes as students and families across the country are already grappling with unprecedented cost-of-living pressures and an acute crisis in student accommodation.<\/p>\n
\u201cMinister Lawless has before stated that he intends to reduce fees over the lifetime of this Government – we are already seven months into this term, so what is he waiting for?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are staring into a worsening accommodation crisis where students are being priced out of their education before they even step foot on campus – the average rent for student accommodation in Dublin is now over \u20ac1,200 a month, which is comparable to a full-time minimum wage salary.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn contrast, students in cities like Berlin pay closer to \u20ac400, and in Lisbon, many pay between \u20ac300 and \u20ac500 – Ireland is now one of the most expensive countries in Europe to be a student.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is increasingly common to hear of students commuting almost two hours each way because they simply cannot afford to live near their colleges, with some deferring courses or dropping out entirely – raising fees now will push the affordability of a third level education away from countless students.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur universities are not businesses, and our students are not customers. Education is a right, not a privilege, and it is time the Government acted accordingly – the Minister must show real leadership, not just empty promises.\u201d<\/p>\n
June 30th, 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Raising student contribution fees by \u20ac1,000 per year amidst a cost of living crisis will make a college education more inaccessible for some students and families, according to Social Democrats further and higher education spokesperson Jen Cummins. Deputy Cummins said: \u201cThis proposal comes as students and families across the country are already grappling with unprecedented […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218,10,581],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-housing-crisis","category-jen-cummins"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n