More and more cash-strapped students across Ireland are turning to ‘sugar daddies’ to help pay their way through college, fresh figures show.
Last year alone over 50 hard-up undergraduates every month signed up to SeekingArrangement.com, a US dating website which pairs off young women with wealthy, older men.
Figures released from the agency reveal a sharp surge in the numbers of college-based ‘sugar babies’ - the term used for those entering into transactional relationships with rich middle-aged males in exchange for money, gifts or travel.
The data shows that there were 644 new sign-ups last year from 10 Irish colleges, while the total ‘sugar baby’ membership of those same 10 institutions now stands at 5,404.
The latest stats indicate that four of the top 10 college-goers using the service are studying at Dublin-based institutions, with Trinity College topping the table with 762 sugar babies, followed by DCU with 681 members.
UCC sits just behind in third place with 660 members, closely followed by University of Limerick with 601 and UCD with 579.
Most new sign-ups last year were from UCD with 93, followed by Trinity College with 89 and Dublin City University with 82.
Critics have long panned the contentious service as a playground for ageing adulterers.
But the agency’s chiefs claim they are creating relationships which are “mutually beneficial” and which give female students the financial means - often through a monthly allowance of around €3,000 - to complete their college courses.
Spokesperson for the service, Kimberly De La Cruz, said: “Ireland continues to embrace the ‘sugar dating’ lifestyle, as is evident in the number of SeekingArrangement users growing every year.
"We expect this trend to continue as more people learn about the benefits of ‘sugar dating’, and get swiping fatigue from the other online dating options.
Table of Top Ten Sugar Baby Colleges (Student total - 2019)
1. Trinity College - 762
2. Dublin City University - 681
3. University College Cork - 660
4. University of Limerick - 601
5. University College Dublin - 579
6. Dublin Institute of Technology - 527
7. NUI Galway - 430
8. Cork IT - 395
9. Waterford IT - 388
10. Limerick IT - 381
