In December 2025, Trinity College Dublin refused to release data on the number of students who have presented themselves to the College as homeless since 2020, citing Section 15(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act (2014). This section states that the college was not required to release information that “does not exist or cannot be found”.
In 2026, a year when Ireland finds itself in the midst of a seemingly never-ending housing crisis, and with homelessness figures at their highest in state history, Trinity’s lack of centralised data on housing insecurity raises alarming concerns. If Trinity cannot quantify student homelessness, how can it hope to address it?
The University Times sat down with Aisling Deegan, a Junior Sophister Clinical Speech and Language Therapy student and Laidlaw scholar, who experienced homelessness prior to commencing her studies at Trinity.
“I think there’s a lot of shame and embarrassment, especially because of the type of institution that Trinity is”, said Deegan. “It’s probably the most elite institution in Ireland […] and I think there is an element [of classism] going on amongst students, whether it be intentional or unintentional […] I don’t think that Trinity [as an institution] does enough to combat that.”
Deegan became homeless after leaving a domestically abusive situation, after which she lived in a Women’s Refuge for six months. She then began renting a flat through the HAP (Housing Assistance Payment) scheme, which aims to help people who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless. She noted, however, that despite HAP assistance, she is unable to feel fully stable in her home, as she is aware that if the rent changes and goes over the HAP rent limit [which varies based on local authority and household size], she is in danger of falling back into homelessness.
“Even though I am housed now”, Deegan explained, “it’s something that I know is not permanent”.
Deegan went on to outline the social isolation she felt during her time in the Women’s Refuge. “When you go to a Women’s Refuge, you can’t stay in the area you were living in for safety reasons […] I was happy that I was safe, but I was isolated from my friends and family on the other side of Dublin. It was quite a lonely time […]. It took me a long time to build up my friendships after that.”
The social workers who worked at the Women’s Refuge “helped so much”, Deegan said. “One of the social workers […] helped me with every form I had to fill out; she made sure I was getting up every day and getting to work and getting my laundry done […] she helped me with everything when I couldn’t really make the decisions to help myself.”
“I’m so grateful for her”, Deegan emphasised. “I think social workers are so underappreciated.”
Deegan’s Laidlaw project focuses on how elite institutions — like Trinity — engage with class and socioeconomic diversity. Her interest was sparked after seeing an article in an Irish newspaper about homelessness amongst college students, and found that Trinity was one of the few which hadn’t released statistics.
“I found out that Trinity has no way of recording the numbers [of homeless students] […] and the way you get help is so fragmented.”
Trinity currently does not have one centralised system of offering support to students who find themselves homeless or in need of emergency accommodation. Although the Trinity Access Programme, the Disability Service, and the Student Counselling Service can do their best to direct students towards appropriate charities and external resources, there appears to be little communication between departments on the issue. The supports that Trinity students can expect when facing homelessness/housing insecurity seem to depend largely on the service that they reach out to. Deegan points out that students are being “bounced around amongst services”, and finds the lack of a centralised system or recording and supporting unhoused students “really, really shocking”.
Many students slip through the cracks due to the wide variety of forms housing insecurity takes in college life. Students can often find themselves in living situations outside of the traditional understanding of homelessness, such as living in hostels or staying with different friends. This phenomenon has become increasingly prevalent in recent years as student housing pressure continues to grow. In 2021, a Cork hostel reported that 100 of its 150 residents were students who were unable to secure affordable accommodation due to the housing crisis.
In a comment to the Journal earlier this year, Bryan O’Mahony, former president of Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn (AMLÉ), stressed the prevalence of hidden homelessness. “For every student officially recorded as homeless by their higher education institution, there are many more that are couch-surfing, sleeping in their cars, undertaking exhausting daily commutes, or staying in precarious and unsafe environments simply because they have no other choice.”, he stated.
A 2025 study confirmed that students experiencing housing and food insecurity were twice as much at risk of academic attrition as their peers. Additionally, in the 2023–2024 Trinity College Dublin Student Union Housing Survey Report, anonymous comments from students who had experienced homelessness stressed the mental and academic toll of navigating college life while being unhoused.
“Homelessness destroyed me, and it has wrecked my chances of getting a high grade and reaching any sense of life stability”, one student said. “It has robbed me of my future and robbed me of myself.”
When discussing changes she hopes to see Trinity implement in their approach to addressing housing insecurity, Deegan noted that she would like to see “one place that students can go to get help with housing, instead of, you know, being thrown in different directions depending on what service they’re already with.”
Trinity, in Deegan’s opinion, should also do more to prevent students from becoming unhoused. Affordable and income-based accommodation is desperately needed, alongside emergency accommodation for students who find themselves in crisis and without a safe place to spend the night. Relationships with Dublin-based homeless charities, such as Focus Ireland and Dublin Simon Community, should also be developed and maintained.
“Ireland’s No. 1 University” is a title that Trinity College Dublin emphasises with pride in its marketing. However, if Ireland’s best university is willing to ignore the need to record data on student homelessness, the college community may question whether such awards can be trusted to reflect the realities of student support.
