“It’s still better than paying rent” said University of Limerick (UL) student Conor Davidson on his decision to live in his van over traditional student housing.
The 22-year-old chemical engineering student has been living in his van for the last three years, due to the rising cost of living and ongoing housing crisis.
The Cavan native lived in digs for two years prior to purchasing his van. He bought the van for €3,000 and then spent another €1,000 on renovations.
Between the initial cost of the van, and the yearly insurance and tax cost, Conor has spent roughly €5,000 on the van over the last two years.
This is less than the average cost of one year’s rent for student accommodation in Limerick.
The UL student has a range of useful equipment in his van, including a fridge and charging ports that run on solar energy.
When the weather is overcast during winter, he charges his phone and laptop on campus. He brings jerry cans on to campus and uses the water-fountains to fill them.
The engineering student also uses the toilet facilities on campus, “There’s thirteen showers on campus; I’ve been to every single one,” he highlighted.
Social Democrats Councillor, Shane Hickey-O’Mara told Limerick Voice: “There are approximately 30,000 students living here in Limerick who bring so much to the city but we are failing them.”
Cllr. Hickey-O’Mara recently brought a motion to Council asking for a taskforce to be set up in relation to the student housing crisis and for them to declare a student housing emergency.
“Sadly, while this motion was fully supported by councillors, there has not been any progress on this and the call for declaring a student housing emergency was quietly dropped.” Cllr Hickey-O’Mara added.
“We know students are commuting long distances to get to college, often on a public transport network that isn’t reliable. Some are couch surfing or sleeping in their cars, all this while trying to navigate their studies…”
“Students are being let down and many that I have spoken to don’t see a future for themselves in Limerick or in Ireland. As is often said, this is no country for young people.” He concluded.
When asked what UL could do to support students who may be in a similar living situation, Conor mentioned that he would like to see a dedicated parking area on campus for vans and caravans, as he feels it would be safer.
Another solution he offered is “build more accommodation.”
When contacted about the issue of accommodation a UL spokesperson issued the following statement: “University of Limerick is conscious of the shortage of student accommodation and is continuing to work together with the government, our partners in Limerick and the wider sector nationally to find solutions to the issue… UL is very conscious of cost-of-living issues and of the social realities facing students.
“Significant work has been done to support the commuter hub at UL and this has been addressed on an ongoing basis.”