The Government has launched its new plan for student accommodation.
The new strategy aims to deliver an extra 21,000 beds by 2024.
Last year, it was estimated that a further 26,000 student accommodation beds were needed to meet demand.
Since then, a number of student accommodation complexes have opened - though some are billed as luxury accommodation and are out of the price range of most students
The new plan aims to provide a range of affordable housing for students, and Higher Education Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor insisted there needs to be a mix.
She said: "That's the whole point of purpose built student accommodation - to make it affordable, and that it is appropriate for students that are attending college.
“Nearly 2,500 students were housed in digs accommodation as a direct result of the USI [Union of Students in Ireland] campaign in 2016. We have set a new target to increase the number of students in digs accommodation by 60% to 4,000 per annum by 2019," she added.
Ministers @RichardbrutonTD @mitchelloconnor and @Damien_English launching the national student accommodation plan pic.twitter.com/lRoZX4rAXc
— Sean Defoe (@SeanDefoe) July 20, 2017
Education Minister Richard Bruton stressed that there needs to be a sustainable model.
He observed: "I don't think I have to tell anyone that we've had a huge accommodation crisis in Ireland over the last number of years.
"[This new plan is] an ambitious strategy [...] In the next two years - to 2019 - the target is 7,000 [beds] - and we believe that with the decisions already made we will exceed that."
The USI, meanwhile, are calling for people to open their homes to students and rent out a room.
USI President Michael Kerrigan believes it can be a stopgap solution for many students who find themselves in a difficult situation.
He argued: "A lot of students might think it's not the ideal scenario to be sharing a house with a family or an elderly person. But for a lot of students, it's a lot better than staying in hostels, staying on friends' couches, staying on floors."
Reporting by Sean Defoe and Stephen McNeice