Student walkout planned for Thursday to protest cost of living crisis

Tenant rights organisation CATU Ireland and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) have announced a student walkout, due to be held this Thursday (October 13th) at 11:11am.

The protest was curated as a response to the cost of living crisis, specifically the emergency surrounding housing, rent and accommodation - which is largely affecting students nationwide.

CATU Ireland are calling for a ban on evictions, rent cuts for all, affordable quality housing for everyone and public funding for public housing.

Eviction ban ✊ Rent cuts ✊ Affordable quality housing for everyone ✊ Public funding for public housing@CatuIreland 🤝@TheUSI
#USIWalkout pic.twitter.com/VrsZG1hh9c

— CATU Ireland (@CatuIreland) October 10, 2022

Student unions from third level institutions all around Ireland are encouraging their students to walk out to boost support for the cause.

UCC has called for renters' rights for those staying in digs, as well as the abolition of the controversial Student Contribution Charge.

Funding for Higher Education, reform for the SUSI Grant and implementation of the €317 million shortfall in core funding identified in Fund the Future, plus the raising of minimum wage to reflect living costs in Ireland are also on the list of needs named.

🚨NATIONAL STUDENT WALKOUT🚨

📣THURSDAY OCTOBER 13th
⏰ 11:11am

We are encouraging ALL students to WALKOUT of their lectures next Thursday 13th October at 11:11am !!! This is a NATIONAL protest taking place all over Ireland. #studentwalkout #costofcollege pic.twitter.com/s4gMYtKp8k

— UCC Students' Union (@UCCSU) October 5, 2022

Having initially announced plans to walkout on August 29th, Union of Students in Ireland President Beth O'Reilly said the protests are intended to show that students "aren't taking this sitting down".

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Beth said that the situation regarding student accommodation has been a long-running issue, but said that it is "exponentially worse" since the pandemic.

Many student leaders and colleges have said the struggle for student accommodation could be far worse this year that anything previously.

On-campus beds are fully booked out at some institutions, while private rented accommodation has evaporated in many areas since the onset of Covid. Some students will face commuting up to five hours to get to college.

Members of UCD Students' Union even started a 'digs drive' appealing to home owners to rent rooms to students. They were appealing for members of the public to open up their homes to students.