Students to march in Dublin today over college costs and accommodation crisis

"Students are struggling every single day"

The protest, organised by Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn (AMLÉ), is taking place ahead of next week's budget, with students calling on the Government to "Fund Our Future".

The student organisation says the cost of going to college, a shortage of student accommodation and chronic underfunding across the higher education sector are making it increasingly difficult for young people to study and build a future in Ireland.

AMLÉ has outlined three core demands ahead of the protest; investment in purpose-built student accommodation, a €500 reduction in the student contribution charge, and increased investment to close the funding gap across the higher education sector.

Speaking to Ciara Doherty on Newstalk Breakfast ahead of the protest, AMLÉ President Daniel Walsh said the accommodation crisis is 'probably the single greatest barrier to higher education in Ireland today'.

He continued: "The answer is simple, we need to see the government investment into students specific accommodation, they need to provide funding so the colleges and the universities can build the safe, affordable accommodation on or near campus that they want to be able to make available to students.

"At present the government's strategy is entirely focused on private developers and giving public lands to private developers which won't bring down costs and it won't make accommodation available to students who really need it."

The issue will be particularly familiar to students in Galway, where the accommodation crisis has caused major difficulties for those trying to find somewhere to live during the academic year.

Students have previously been forced to commute for hours to attend University of Galway, while others have reported sleeping on friends' couches or struggling to secure accommodation at all.

The University of Galway Students' Union has also staged action highlighting the crisis, including a student sleep-out in Eyre Square.

AMLÉ is also calling for the student contribution charge to be reduced by €500 in next week's Budget.

The organisation's third demand is increased investment in higher education to address what it describes as a core funding gap across the sector.

While the number of students entering third-level education continues to increase, Walsh said this does not mean that students are able to afford college without significant financial pressure.

"What we're actually seeing on the ground a lot more is that students are making it as far as college but they're impoverishing themselves to do so."

He said some students are commuting three, four or even five hours to college each day, while others are working additional shifts to cover the cost of accommodation.

"And we know students are going hungry to lectures in some cases," Walsh said.

"So, while some students are making it as far as college, they're really struggling every single day just to make it through the academic year."