Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am aware of the difficulties faced by many students in accessing affordable and suitable student accommodation. The Government is committed to addressing this challenge. This morning, the Cabinet approved the drafting of amendments to the residential tenancies (student-specific accommodation) Bill via an emergency Bill which will deal with the matter of 51-week leases. We gave approval to publish with the intention of the Bill being passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas during the summer session. I look forward to the help of the Opposition in getting that done with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. I thank the Minister and his officials for the significant work done in expediting this process to safeguard students from being forced to undertake extended 51-week leases and excessive payments to secure a tenancy. These measures will provide assurances to students and their families on costs when planning for higher education.

The Government has approved my Department's long-term policy, including the provision of State support to stimulate the development of new student accommodation. Capital investment of €100 million was announced in April for the delivery of 1,000 student accommodation beds across UCD, Maynooth University and DCU. The long-term vision, which is a key deliverable of the Government’s Housing for All strategy, will ensure that availability of accommodation does not act as a barrier to higher education.

In addition to increasing supply of student accommodation through State support, this vision will see us reducing the cost of delivery through the development of standardised design guidance and the promotion of efficient use of existing stock and vacancies, while supporting balanced regional development. The consultancy appointment for this work is currently being finalised by the Department on my behalf.

We will continue to support digs accommodation. The role and provision of supply from the private sector in campus accommodation locations should also be recognised and continued. Officials in the Department are working intensively on progressing proposals from the technological university sector. I look forward to receiving a report on this work in the coming weeks with a view to progressing a number of proposals to the next stage in the near future.

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