Earlier this week Galway city council officials walked through the patch of grass where tents and sleeping bags hinted at vulnerable people living on the edge. One of those tents, battered by rain, was home to a pregnant woman and her two dogs. To her disbelief, she was issued an official eviction notice—not from an apartment, not from a shelter, but from her tent: her last line of protection from the elements. The message was clear: even the most precarious shelter could no longer be guaranteed.
This shocking episode, reported recently in the Connacht Tribune, is not an anomaly but a brutal symptom of a housing market in crisis. As rents soar and supply withers, the homeless and the vulnerable are forced ever further to society’s edge—sometimes quite literally, as the story of the evicted mum-to-be reveals.
But the tragedy gripping Ireland’s housing market doesn’t end with citizens left without homes. Increasingly, it is foreign students—drawn to Ireland’s world-renowned English-language schools—who find themselves risking destitution, exploitation, and even homelessness in the scramble for safe and affordable accommodation.
Crisis on All Fronts: The Irish Housing Market in 2025
Chronic underinvestment and shortages have sent prices through the roof, with rents in university cities like Galway and Dublin hitting historic highs. Even if you’re lucky enough to secure a spot in university housing, the price often far exceeds €8,000 per year, putting it out of reach for most. For many, finding somewhere to live is a desperate race against time, leading to overcrowding, sub-par conditions, and, as with the evicted Galway woman, outright homelessness.
The Plight of Foreign and English-Language Students
Foreign students, especially those studying English, are among the hardest hit. According to recent surveys by the Irish Council for International Students (ICOS):
- Overcrowding: Up to four out of five students share cramped spaces—often sharing rooms with three or more people, or sleeping in bunk beds inches apart from strangers.
- Exploitation and Scams: With little local knowledge, students fall prey to scams, and some report being propositioned for “sex-for-rent.” The lack of legal protection and resources makes them easy targets.
- Mental Strain and Academic Suffering: Over half say their mental health suffers due to housing uncertainty, with some abandoning studies or even returning home in defeat.
A Brazilian English-language student describes the reality:
“I am sharing a double bed with a person I don’t know. We sleep in a small space on bunk beds that are very close to each other.”
Forced to the Margins
Foreign students are caught in a cruel bind: restrictions on work hours limit their ability to earn rent, and the scarcity of beds leads to dangerous decisions. Informal, often unsafe rentals abound, and the urgency to find any accommodation at all makes students vulnerable to all manner of exploitation.
Solutions Lag as Crisis Deepens
Campus accommodation is oversubscribed and overpriced. Cost-rental schemes and student housing blocks offer little solace because of slow progress and high rent. The current system, left unchecked, risks damaging Ireland’s hard-won reputation as a welcoming hub for international students.
The story of the woman evicted from her tent should shock us awake. It’s more than an isolated incident—it’s the clearest sign that, unless urgent action is taken, the housing market will continue to push the vulnerable, the young, and the foreign into deeper insecurity. For many, the dream of living and studying in Ireland is fast turning into a nightmare of eviction notices and shelterless nights.
