DCU took in €12.92 million from its student accommodation in 2024, down marginally on the €12.97 million made the year prior.
The figures, reported by a subsidiary of the university to the Companies Registration Office, bring the total income generated by Irish universities from student accommodation to €126 million for the year.
An analysis of the financial accounts for Ireland’s main universities by The Irish Times showed the income from student accommodation has nearly doubled since 2015 as third-level institutions have hiked fees and invested in new accommodation blocks.
Universities made €117.6 million from student accommodation in 2023. Excluding Dublin City University, which had not published its consolidated accounts, the figure for 2024 stood at €113.5 million made from their residences.
The publication of the accounts for the north-Dublin college’s holding company subsidiary, DCU Educational Supports DAC shows that the sector-wide figure broke €120 million for the first time.
The company operates the renting out of student residences on DCU campuses, runs language and translation services, and a series of other commercial services for the university.
Its accounts show that DCU earned €12.92 million from their student accommodation in the year to September 2024.
A spokesperson for DCU said a significant portion of the revenue from its student residences is generated “during the summer months, when undergraduate beds are not occupied, when we charge full commercial rates” to visiting students, academics and tourists.
“All of that revenue goes straight back into the university to help DCU to keep student accommodation academic term rents as affordable as possible for students and their families,” they added.
The college is planning to add an additional 405 new beds aided by Government funding. This came after plans to construct 1,240 beds had to be paused and eventually scaled back due to what, DCU chief operations officer, Declan Raftery described as “escalating costs of construction” resulting in the development “simply not being viable in the absence of support from Government”.
Income at the university-owned company increased to €51.5 million in 2024, up 2 per cent from a year earlier. Costs of sales decreased by more than €850,000 to €16.37 million, but the savings were absorbed by significantly higher administrative costs which rose €3 million to €30.07 million. As a result, the company saw profits drop slightly from €4.17 million to €3.57 million.
The main income sources for the company are DCU’s student residences, which accounts for a quarter of its income, as well as English language teaching and translation services – €9 million, and construction services transfers of €8.8 million. The company reported income of €5.6 million from its catering services.
Staff costs rose last year to €10.8 million, and the company made a donation to its parent company, Dublin City University, of €1,29 million in the year ending September 2024, having made a slightly larger the year prior, of €1.55 million.
