Some students spend four hours a day travelling from the family home because they cannot afford rents near their college, it has been claimed.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) said this trend was set to continue because this was the worst year for student accommodation.
Its welfare officer, Mr John Paul Swaine, said: "We are seeing a significant increase in the phenomenon of students commuting long distances.
"Increasing numbers of students are spending four or more hours a day travelling to college from their parents' home because they simply cannot afford to pay rent for a place to live near their college."
At a press event yesterday USI called for reforms to tackle the accommodation shortage.
The USI president, Mr Richard Hammond, summarised the union's demands as the "three Fs": fair rent, full tenant's rights and further investment in student accommodation.
"In relation to fair rent, for the last number of years rents have increased dramatically. In most Irish college towns and cities rents have doubled over the past three or four years," Mr Hammond said.
"In fact, we are finding that students are now paying the same amount for a shared room as they would have paid for a single room just a year or two ago. While landlords are entitled to a profit on their investment, students are entitled to a fair deal."
He added that many students were denied their basic tenant's rights, and further investment was needed in specific student accommodation.
He echoed calls by property companies such as Sherry Fitzgerald for mortgage interest relief to apply to Section 50 student accommodation schemes.
"In 1999 the Government introduced a tax relief measure for student accommodation. However, only 2,000 apartments have been certified under this Section 50 scheme to date, and this leading property company has branded the initiative a failure," Mr Hammond said.