Students Need a Bailout of Accommodation Crisis - Aontú
Tóibín TD
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD has called on the government to ensure that thousands of students around the country are not seriously financially burned by the Covid-19 crisis. He stated;
“With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, students – the same as everyone else – sought to comply with government guidelines and social distancing regulations to aid the fight against this threat to our society. As a result, students had to leave their accommodation to comply with government orders. However, so many of these students have paid for their accommodation, for electricity, for gas, and other utilities well in advance”.
“Due to much of the accommodation they occupied being privately owned, many owners are not reimbursing the students. Indeed some are not in the financial position to do so unfortunately. It is imperative that the government intervene to rectify the crisis. Students should not be massively out of pocket and financially compromised for having fulfilled their civic duty.”
“Aontú is calling on the government to undertake a means-tested intervention to help accommodation providers reimburse students for the time they will not be using the accommodation. Students have felt the brunt of our rental crisis. As we approach the end of the year their academic lives are in turmoil. It is paramount that the government intervene to shield them from the worst financial impact of the pandemic.”
