Maynooth University Found To Have Most Expensive On-Campus Accommodation Outside Of Dublin

Students in Dublin pay an average of 39% more than in the rest of the country.

A new study has explored the costs for accommodation on Irish college campuses, as almost all have raised their rents.

According to the Irish Independent, students in Dublin pay an average of 39% more than in the rest of the country.

The survey looked at the prices of on-campus rooms across 10 third-level institutions for the previous and coming academic years, as well as the price and availability of private student complexes and individual house shares across nine counties.

The survey focused on the prices of single, double, twin and shared rooms at student residences.

Outside of Dublin, accommodation costs peak in Maynooth University (MU), which offers rooms ranging from €5,556 for a single room with a shared bathroom to €9,880 for a single room with an en suite.

University of Galway (UG) continues to have the cheapest on-campus accommodation in Ireland.

For a twin room at Corrib Village a student would now need to pay €3,316 per academic year for the room.

The most expensive room at UG – a double with en suite at Dunlin Village – costs €8,086 per academic year.

The most expensive third-level accommodation was found at Griffith College Dublin, with prices for a shared twin room starting at €8,560.

The private institution is also home to the country’s most expensive on-campus room: a king deluxe room that costs €16,320 per academic year.

Griffith is followed by University College Dublin (UCD), where prices range from €5,772 for a shared bedroom in Village 1 to €11,990 for an en suite in Village 3.

At Trinity College Dublin (TCD), the cheapest option is €6,076 for a twin room. The most expensive option is a double or king room for €10,086.

TCD said its accommodation fees had remained unchanged for the third year in a row.

At Dublin City University (DCU), students need to pay €6,155 for a single room in St Patrick’s Campus, which is available only to first-year students. The most luxurious option is a superior room at College Park, which costs €7,442. Both prices exclude utilities.

Since March, student specific accommodation has been subject to the same rent controls as other rental accommodation. They cannot rise by more than 2% a year or by the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. This does not cover utility bills.

The survey also found that some private off-campus student accommodation can be nearly three times as expensive as on-campus accommodation in Dublin and Cork.

In Cork, which has around 30 privately run student accommodation complexes, students can pay between €4,600 and €19,768 for luxury private accommodation.

In Dublin, which has roughly 38 purpose-built accommodation blocks, students pay between €7,875 and €19,020 for luxury private accommodation.

Limerick is another county higher on the scale. It has approximately 15 private complexes, which range in price from €3,618 to €11,700.

Waterford offers the cheapest private accommodation. Spread between three providers, its offerings range from €3,321 to €4,698.

There was a significant shortfall of private rental and house-share options for students across university cities and towns.

On two private rental platforms, Dundalk, Galway, Maynooth, Carlow, Wexford and Waterford each had fewer than 80 rooms available.

Three properties noted there would be sharing with between seven and 20 people for up to €1,500 per person per month.

The current shortage sits anywhere between 30,000 and 50,000 beds

Speaking in the Dáil ahead of the summer recess, Higher Education Minister and Kildare North TD James Lawless said his department was putting together a budget estimate package focusing on the cost of college.

He said this might include the cost of student accommodation.