TUS student walkout highlights issues with 'extortionate rents' and parking

A student walkout took place at the Technological University of the Shannon Midlands campus in Athlone today (Thursday) in protest at the accommodation and cost-of-living crises.

It was part of a nationwide protest which saw students at third level colleges across the country walk out of lectures and tutorials to highlight the financial difficulties many of them are facing.

Deputy president of TUS Students Union Kevin Pakenham said: “The student union officers and I are facilitating and encouraging students to walk out of their lectures to protest over the current costs associated with higher education, such as student parking and the cost of college accommodation, as well as the underfunding of the sector as a whole."

The demands of the protests included protection for renters, reductions of rents, subsidising of purpose-built student accommodation from public funds, the abolishment of the Student Contribution Charge, increased funding for the higher education sector, minimum wage to match living wage and student parking on campus.

The walkout was organised by the Union of Students in Ireland, which has said that landlords are exploiting the student accommodation crisis by charging sky-high rents.

See full report in next Wednesday's print edition.