Camp-out protest to highlight accommodation shortage

With thousands of students returning to Galway for the start of the academic year, as many as 250 from GMIT and NUIG will stage a mock ‘camp-out’ in the northern end of the Square to highlight the increasing strain on student accommodation.

Dáil Éireann heard earlier this year that several students had to camp-out and sleep rough in Eyre Square due to the chronic shortage of housing available for students last September. Every year in recent years, many students have no other option but to couch-surf or live temporarily in hostels because there isn’t enough student accommodation available for rent.

The Students Unions at both colleges have joined forces to highlight the problem, with the camp-out from 6pm to 10pm at Eyre Square next Tuesday, September 11.

The protest has the full backing of ONE Galway, which is organising a housing accommodation workshop, a follow-up event on Wednesday, September 12, upstairs in Monroe’s Tavern from 12 noon to 3pm.

Launched by Mayor of Galway Niall McNelis, the workshop will include a panel discussion made up of both SU presidents, Martin O’Connor from COPE, Rachel Timothy from Threshold and a speaker from the Irish Secondary Schools Union. The panelists will discuss their perspectives on the housing crisis and then it will be opened up to the floor for questions.

Ahead of next week’s protest, GMIT SU President, Aaron Burke said: “Students are not cash cows and this can bring extreme pressure on both parents and students, especially when people are struggling to stay in college. The rate of the grant has not increased since 2012 yet rental prices have increased year-on-year for six years straight. This kind of accommodation far exceeds the already high rental prices that exist in the city.”

NUIG SU President, Megan Reilly said: “We cannot stand by these luxury student accommodation providers taking advantage of the current crisis. At this rate, people could be paying up to €1,250 a month for one room in one apartment; some people wouldn’t even pay that on their mortgage monthly. At the other end of the spectrum we have students who are living in hostels or commuting hours to go to college because they can’t afford to live in Galway City.”

The ONE Galway initiative was launched in February and is a local collaboration between the trade union and student union movements.

It aims to build capacity to improve working and living standards for all, while increasing their collective influence to achieve legislative change and policy outcomes that deliver decent work, income and living standards for workers, families and the local community in Galway.The work of the group centres on the priority themes of precarious working and the housing crisis, which affect all workers across all sectors and within all communities.

Speaking about Wednesday’s housing workshop, Clement Shevlin of SIPTU and ONE Galway said: “In keeping with the ONE Galway ethos, we have invited all community groups from within the city, that in one way or another deal with the fall out of the housing crisis.

“Each of these groups will have a stand and be able to share information. There will stands there for mental health groups, housing groups, LGBT groups, local employment services, Social Welfare and Revenue, Galway hospitality groups, youth groups, and representatives of migrants and Travellers. The Trade Unions will be at the one stand under the ONE Galway banner.”