Student representatives in Galway have called for urgent action to address a lack of accommodation, ahead of the start of the new academic year.
They are staging a sleep-out in the city tonight to draw attention to the ongoing shortage of available housing.
The protest comes as thousands prepare for the return of college courses at the two universities in Galway.
Student unions say many of their members will have to commute for hours to attend lectures, while others may have to defer their places, as a result of housing difficulties.
They say that measures are needed to address the cost of accommodation, as well as dealing with a continuing shortage of suitable places to rent.
President of the University of Galway SU Seán de Búrca said that public representatives needed to take the issue seriously and ensure young people did not have to “put up with such a dire state of housing”.
He said that while new dedicated private student accommodation had come on stream in the city, it was prohibitively expensive for many and did not make a significant impact on the wider problem.
Mr de Búrca said the supply of short-term rental properties in Galway continued to be an issue, with hundreds of units being used for this purpose, when they could be accommodating students.
Around 100 houses and apartments are available on the Airbnb site around Galway city, with the cheapest listing for a room on the Daft website starting at €750 per month.
New regulations to govern the short term rental market are due in the coming months but student leaders say existing rules for the sector are not being effectively implemented.
Since the start of this year, Galway City Council has received just two applications from private landlords, seeking change of use of properties, to allow short-term lets.
In the previous six years, only 18 applications were made under the same heading.
President of Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn Daniel Walsh said the issues in Galway were mirrored elsewhere.