Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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8. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if funding can be accessed by third level institutions to increase their student accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40030/24]

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Third level colleges attract huge numbers of students who require accommodation. A preference for that accommodation being beside the college is very much a reasonable requirement, especially for first-year students. While private operators are providing some accommodation, what additional efforts are being made by the colleges to make accommodation available to students? Do they have access to the necessary funding to deliver that accommodation?

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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In budget 2025, we secured €6 million in annual funding to support the activation of more than 1,200 new student accommodation beds through leasing. This measure will support target group students in availing of new accommodation supply, with at least 30% of all developments being available at below market rates. A sum of €1 million has been secured to provide student accommodation officers for the sector to build resourcing and capabilities. In addition, An Taoiseach and the Minister announced an investment of €100 million from the national development plan to be allocated to the short-term activation programme. This enabled the projects at UCD, DCU and Maynooth University to progress following completion of the due diligence process.

In the longer term, schemes allowing third level institutions to access funding as part of a new student accommodation strategy are being developed and are due for completion in early 2025. The technological university study is progressing in tandem with the standardised design study to enable viable designs for State-supported student accommodation based on regional needs and feasibility assessments. The outcomes of these studies will provide a framework of delivery models and funding options that will require approval by the Government.

The HEA and the Department are actively working on the progression of pipeline proposals and programmes for student accommodation, which will include assessment and identification of State funding support requirements to activate supply for target groups.

The European Investment Bank and the Housing Finance Agency have agreed a €434 million student accommodation financing initiative to support higher education institutions in the development of affordable student housing. That is subject to the university borrowing capacity.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The struggle even just to find accommodation, let alone to get accommodation that is reasonably priced, is a huge issue for students. Being close to the college is an important requirement to so many as well. A recent USI survey in Cork indicated that 27% of students were in purpose-built accommodation, much of which was privately operated, with very little from the colleges. Clearly, the colleges need to increase the availability of accommodation.

When I raised a very similar question this time last year, the then higher education Minister, Deputy Harris, indicated that he had been working on this technological university borrowing framework and that it would be available over the next year, that is, 2023-24, to release funding. Will the Minister of State outline the progress on that? It sounds like he is talking about next year for that. Again, will he outline the progress the Minister has made over the past year?

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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There is no decision from the Government, or any recommendation from the Department of public expenditure and reform to the Government to make a decision, on the TU borrowing facility. That is something that is raised with me quite regularly, so that is to answer it straight up for the Deputy. However, it is our intention to increase supply as much as we can. That is why the intention of the technological university feasibility study is to develop a programmatic approach to facilitate future TU student accommodation proposals. There was a demand analysis, which was an output of phase 1 of the study and that will inform a framework of delivery models and funding options as part of the second phase of the study. Phase 2 of the study is to identify potential proposals for the technological university sector for the delivery of student accommodation. That is under way. Options include purpose-built student accommodation, both on- and off-campus, leasing, joint ventures and repurposing of vacant and derelict properties. The HEA will assess and appraise these options, with the final business cases due by the end of November 2024.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Often when we think of student accommodation, the purpose-built units or the apartments might be the first in mind, but there are also houses. While we see the challenge there for the technological universities, other colleges seem to be able to move in more flexible or different abilities, such as in Limerick, where they were able to buy houses.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy is picking a great example.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I know the C and AG's office has a view on that. What level of control or assurance is there that while colleges are operating in that space for accommodation, they are getting value for money and ensuring that they are giving the maximum number of students accommodation?

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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As the Chair stated, the Deputy has picked a fine example. That is exactly what is being inquired into by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Higher Education Authority through their statutory process and, I understand from media reports, An Garda Síochána, so there are lots of moving parts in that regard. It is incumbent on any higher education institution to ensure value for money. Therein is the other point that we have to reiterate in this House on many occasions, that is, that our higher education institutions guard their autonomy and governance and hold it very precious. It is sacred to them. The Deputy will recall that when we updated or modernised our legislation on the functioning of the HEA, there was a lot of friction with the higher education institutions, which did not like the State looking at them in a Big Brother role. That is, however, part of our job. If the State provides the money, the State is entitled to have a degree of oversight, and rightly so.