‘We’re at crisis point’ - Students walk out of ATU Mayo in protest at lack of student accommodation

STUDENTS in ATU Mayo have walked out of class in protest at the lack of student accommodation the county 

A group of over 50 students demonstrated outside of ATU Mayo’s Castlebar campus this afternoon. Students in third-level institutions across the country took part in similar demonstrations amid an ongoing shortage of accommodation which has left many students homeless or unable to take up college courses. 

Christina McGuinness, ATU Mayo Students Union Vice-President, told The Mayo News that students were ‘at crisis point’ due to the lack of accommodation and financial support. 

Speaking after addressing a gathering outside ATU Mayo, Ms McGuinness said accommodation for students was ‘non-existent’ at present. 

Ms McGuinness called on the government to deliver more dedicated student accommodation. She also called for the abolition of the student contribution fee, which she described as ‘an absolute shambles’. The fee was cut by €1,000 in the 2024 Budget, bringing the fee to €2,000 per student. 

“The students are really, really feeling it and suffering this year. There’s so many students homeless in Ireland this year, third-level there’s 24,000-plus that we actually know about, there’s 5,000 children [homeless], enough is enough, so we’re here today to express our anger and our frustration about what’s going on, because people can’t cope. The dropout rates across third-level are massive, and it cannot continue,” she said. 

“It was at crisis point before, but it seems to have gotten worse, so I don’t even have a word to describe how bad it is.”

^{ATU Mayo Students Union Vice-President, Christina McGuinness, speaking outside ATU Mayo (Pic: The Mayo News)}

The Mayo News spoke to two other ATU Mayo students, including one third-year outdoor education student who was homeless for the first two years in college. 

Jenni Greene, originally from Clonmel in Tipperary, found accommodation for the coming academic year but 

“It’s ridiculous in this day and age that students are living in cars in the car park,” she said.

Alisha McWalter, a first-year social care student from Ballindine, said she knew of one student who is commuting from Ballyhaunis to Letterkenny to attend her course. 

Ms McWalter had studied law at the South East Technological University but had to drop out as she could not find anywhere to live. 

“It is just beyond a joke. It has been going on since nearly my older cousins were in school. It’s been going on for ten-plus years and there’s no end in sight,” she said. 

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A group of 29 ATU Mayo students took part in a recent ‘Shine A Light’ sleep out at ATU Mayo in aid of Focus Ireland to raise awareness for homelessness. 

Further coverage will be carried in Tuesday’s Mayo News.