Some students attending MTU Kerry campuses are having to travel three and a half hours each way to get to class, as short-term rentals outnumber long-term listings three to one.
That’s according to a report in today’s Mail on Sunday, which compared long-term lettings on Daft.ie with short-term holiday homes on Airbnb.
65,000 students are set to receive their CAO offers on Wednesday, with around 1,000 due to start at MTU Tralee.
In total, about 4,000 students attend MTU Tralee, and suitable accommodation is at a crisis point, with only 3 purpose-built student accommodation complexes in the town.
Currently, there are 94 short-term lettings available in the Tralee area, compared to only 30 long-term rentals, 24 of which are student accommodation.
Student Union President Cian McGrath says on-campus accommodation at the MTU Kerry campus could take up to a decade to fully develop.
In the meantime, the university has repeatedly appealed to local residents to rent out spare bedrooms to help ease the housing shortage.
