Galway West TD Mairéad Farrell has urged the government to take action to protect students from accommodation scams.
The Sinn Féin TD’s comments follow the launch of the ‘Scamwatch Campaign’ by student unions and Threshold.
Deputy Farrell said that is a severe shortage of student accommodation at colleges across the state, and that students are desperate to secure suitable rentals.
As a result, some are falling prey to scammers taking advantage of this desperation.
Deputy Farrell said that this is happening because the government has failed to take action and address the housing crisis despite clear and repeated warnings.
“I am deeply concerned by reports of students being scammed hundreds and even thousands of Euros when they attempt to secure accommodation,” she said.
“Government must act urgently to protect students and tackle the underlying issues around the lack of housing supply.
“I am concerned that international students are particularly vulnerable to these scams, as they may lack local knowledge to determine whether a rental advert is authentic or not.
“The government has totally failed student renters by abandoning them in the grip of the housing crisis. It isn’t good enough.”
