Some landlords racist, says council for overseas students

THE Irish Council for Overseas" Students (ICOS) says racism by a minority of landlords is causing major problems for some overseas students seeking accommodation.

Council staff spent considerable time last year dealing with serious landlord tenant problems, according to the latest annual report.

Ms Phil Lawlor Watson of ICOS says that, while the overall level of racism is not rising, a minority of landlords discriminated against overseas students who were not white.

In some cases, the problem proved so serious that complaints were made to the Department of the Environment, she said. On one occasion, the health board was called to inspect a Dublin hostel used by overseas students after complaints were made about the standard of the accommodation. The rooms were damp and mould was growing on the clothes of the residents.

ICOS acknowledges that substandard accommodation is a problem faced by all students, but it believes that a failure to carry out repairs can on occasion involve "an element of racism", according to Ms Deirdre Murray, student officer.

In some cases, overseas students are told on the telephone that a flat is available, but when they turn up this is no longer the case. In others, landlords are more blunt, and tell ICOS "we don't take blacks".

Ironically, the difficulties faced by overseas students many of, them on modest grants or scholarships, have been exacerbated by the introduction of stricter housing standard regulations. These have reduced the supply of cheaper accommodation.

In contrast, Ms Murray says some landlords actually prefer overseas students to Irish ones, because they tend to be older and more mature, and they approach their studies more seriously.

The problems which arise are not always of the landlord's making, she adds. One landlady in Santry opted not to take any more overseas students after neighbours complained she was "lowering the tone of the area".

Landlord tenant problems were just one of a series of issues which arose in ICOS's work with overseas students last year. Other listed in the report include bereavements; serious illness; a violent dispute between students resulting in Garda involvement and a physical attack on a student which led to a court case.

Overseas students find Ireland a congenial but expensive place to live in, according to the results of a survey detailed in the report.

Many students experienced difficulty with the climate and homesickness, as well as "the Irish way of speaking English". ICOS has expressed concern at the higher than expected level of inadequacy in the written English ability of many students.

In 1994-95, ICOS administered 135 Irish aid fellowships, mostly involving students from Africa or Asia.