Vol. 534 No. 3
332 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Science if his Department has an estimate of the number of students who are presently accommodated in student residences provided by third level institutions; if so, if he will provide such figures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10817/01]
According to a recent survey carried out by my Department there are 7,156 bed spaces currently available for student accommodation. As many as 2,260 of these were provided as a result of the tax incentive scheme introduced by this Government under section 50 of the Finance Act 1999. A further 14,523 bed spaces are due for completion under this scheme.
My Department has no details of the ownership or occupancy levels of student accommodation.
