Higher Education Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor has told cash-strapped students to "use grants" to pay for the cost of college accommodation.
But with almost every third level college increasing the cost of on campus accommodation, even those who receive the maximum grant award will not be able to cover the costs.
Last week, it was revealed Irish colleges are hiking campus accommodation costs by as much as 11.5 percent.
Students will have to fork out €6,179 to live at University College Cork's University Hall and a €7,554 for a room at Trinity College's Goldsmith Hall in Dublin for the coming academic year.
And the maximum grant is just €5,915, with many students receiving a much smaller amount, depending on their circumstances.
Ms Mitchell O'Connor told The Irish Independent yesterday: "I am very disappointed that student accommodation was put up in our universities and higher education institutes.
"But what I would say is there are SUSI grants available, up to 48% of our student population avails of student grants.
"So make sure now that you log into the SUSI application and make sure that you have filled out that application."
The new applications priority closing date has now passed.
With private rent costs also soaring, students looking for off-campus accommodation are also facing enormous rents.
Students and their families are subject to means-testing before they can receive a higher education grant towards college costs.
They must be an Irish or EU citizen and be below a certain gross income threshold before they can receive a grant.
They must also be attending an approved third-level institution and must be progressing to a higher qualification.
Students whose home is over 45km away from their college are available for higher rates but are still subject to an income means test.
New rent caps of four percent for student accommodation are coming into effect tomorrow, including on-campus housing.
However, the majority of colleges pre-empted this move by hiking rents before the introduction of the new law.
