The University Observer

On 24 March, Minister of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless, published the National Student Accommodation Strategy 2026-2035. The plan sets out to deliver an additional 42,000 beds by 2035 for students across the country and seeks to address the challenges individuals face when trying to find affordable university accommodation.

Of the 42,000 extra beds, 32,000 are planned to come from purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) that will be created through public-private partnerships where private companies will be given permission to build student residence on university owned land. The remaining 10,000 beds are planned to be provided through digs in private households.

The strategy claims that the current excess, and future, demand for student accommodation is beyond the financial capacity of the Irish state to fulfill. As a result, this strategy turns towards the private sector to aid the government in developing student housing, as well as an increased focus on Rent-a-Room accommodation.

🔗 Read the full article on our website.
✍️ Beth Clifford
📷 Unsplash

A recent survey of fifty second-year students at UCD’s School of Nursing and Midwifery indicates widespread concern about wellbeing and support. The findings of the survey, conducted by the University Observer, show that 92% of respondents feel their mental health is not adequately supported by the university, while 88% reported very high levels of stress linked to academic demands and clinical placements, with many saying they do not feel sufficiently supported in managing these pressures by the college.

Student nurses have raised concerns that their training experience in the college and on clinical placement does not match the “friendly and supportive environment” promoted on official university platforms. Instead, students describe an academic and clinical system that leaves them emotionally drained, academically unprepared and largely unsupported as they navigate their introduction to healthcare.

🔗 Read the full story at the link in bio.
✍️ John O’Connor
📷 The University Observer

Final coffee morning of the year!! 🗞️☕️

Issue 6 is nearly here! Make sure to swing by our office on Tuesday from 12.30pm to 2pm to get the first look of our latest paper when it arrives on campus! Tea, coffee, biscuits, and plenty of copies of Issue 6 will be provided. 🌟🗞️🌟🗞️🌟

Don’t worry if you can’t make it for the coffee morning - by Tuesday afternoon, copies will be available all across campus!

Need help finding the office? Check out our Instagram highlights for directions!

We hope to see you there for our final coffee morning ever!!!! (ie, this academic year) 🌟