New guidelines are warning that if Covid-19 enters student residences at universities it could spread quickly.
The roadmap for the re-opening of third level recommends the wearing of masks in lecture halls when social distancing isn't possible.
It also recommends colleges to have alternative accommodation to deal with outbreaks in residences, as they are "dense congregated settings" which are unsupervised, while students will be encouraged to look out for symptoms of others.
Lorna Fitzpatrick, President of the Union of Students in Ireland, says she is disappointed that there was no input from students into shaping the guidelines.
