Sir, – There doesn’t seem to be any practical policies being mooted by the Government (or Opposition) to deal with the imminent student accommodation crisis.
The Government should fund an emergency measure that public transport would be free for the first 10 weeks of the college semester for students. Any individual who produced a student card or a student Leap card would be entitled to free fare on that service.
This would allow many students to commute, as many are being forced to.
It would also mean students could avail of accommodation a little further from their colleges without the extra cost of commuting (hopefully providing students with more accommodation options).
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It is not a magic bullet by any means but could provide some real relief.
Rural students are particularly vulnerable as they have no option but to travel to colleges and rely on accommodation. This measure is a practical solution that falls in line with the Government’s plan for this year’s budget of one-off payments and measures.
This is the ideal time to lobby for such a measure as the final meetings, planning, and bilaterals take place. Furthermore, it is not a specific added expense to the exchequer; rather it is simply a loss of income for 10 weeks. – Yours, etc,
REUBAN MURRAY,
Mountrath,
Co Laois.