Hannah Cahill’s morning alarm sounds at the ripe time of 6 am. She hastily showers and gathers her belongings.
Every morning Hannah comes from Ballybrophy – a small village just outside of Portlaoise – to Dublin. As commuter trains do not run every hour, Hannah must get the 6.30 am train to Heuston Station to arrive on time for her first lecture at 9 am. When lectures finish at 5 pm, she hurriedly leaves TU Dublin, Grangegorman to get the train at 5.30 pm.
Living in the commuter belt, Hannah is reliant on patchy public transport that can take hours to get to and from college.
“This is incredibly frustrating, but I can’t afford accommodation in Dublin – it’s easier to spend €20 a day commuting than to rent in Dublin,” says Cahill (22), who is studying Journalism.
“Walking off campus with the knowledge of a long commute ahead of you is draining,”
“It’s a life of constant clock watching – most days I’m commuting longer than I am actually in class,” Cahill says.
Speaking to Hannah, you get a sense of her frustration. It seems the strain of commuting is beginning to take its toll. She believes commuting such a long distance has affected her attendance.
Many college students feel the same way as Cahill. The recent walkout of lectures in protest of the student accommodation crisis by thousands of third-level students highlights this.
Ballybrophy Train Station
As part of a Union of Students in Ireland campaign, students all over the county walked out of lectures and tutorials at 11 minutes past 11 am and congregated in college outdoor spaces to highlight their financial struggles.
The USI said the action was to remind government and college authorities that students are “not an endless money pit” and to call for “meaningful” change in the way third-level education is funded.
Speaking to The Irish Times, USI president Beth O’Reilly said the union was not surprised by the large numbers of students who turned out today as it is “well aware of the depth of feeling on the issue”.
It is estimated that 2600 students across all three Technological University of Dublin campuses took part in the protest.
Brian Jordan, TU Dublin Students Union President believes the protest was key, showing that “students care, that they are angry and they’re nowhere near done yet”.
More students have to make unsustainable commutes, meaning students’ academic work suffers, whilst missing out on the whole college experience due to not being able to take part in clubs and societies.
Speaking of the rise of students commuting long distances, Jordan said: “We know countless students who have contacted us about accommodation queries, issues, and scams. So many of our students can’t afford accommodation in Dublin, they’re commuting hours every day, and they’re missing out on lectures, labs, clubs, and societies. We know students are commuting from Mayo and Kerry, and others live in hostels night to night.”
According to the latest Census, the proportion of third-level students travelling more than two hours a day is increasing, with 17 percent now doing so.
So, how might we ensure that fewer students are commuting long distances to college?
Jordan believes there needs to be a legislative change that protects renters such as digs protections, and rights for tenancies under six months.
“They need to reduce rents, cap rents and subsidise affordable purpose-built student accommodation from public funds. They have to abolish the student contribution charge, better fund the higher education sector,” Jordan added.
For commuting students such as Hannah Cahill, the longer-term solution is much clearer. “We need more affordable accommodation and fast,” she warned.