Vol. 537 No. 5
119 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Education and Science the arrangements which are in place in his Department to monitor the costs of on-campus student accommodation and other student accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17117/01]
My Department does not provide direct financial assistance for the provision of student accommodation and, therefore, does not directly monitor the costs of on-campus student accommodation and other student accommodation.
This Government has introduced tax incentives to encourage the provision of student-rented residential accommodation in section 50 of the Finance Act, 1999.
As a result of these tax incentives, 2,260 bed spaces have already been created. A further 14,523 are due for completion under this scheme. The tax incentive is available for expenditure up to 31 March 2003. Therefore, the opportunity exists to create significant additional accommodation for third level students.
I announced late last year that I was setting up a special project team to carry out a comprehensive review of every aspect of the maintenance grants and other student supports to ensure their relevance to the needs of present day third level students.
This review, which in progress, is a wide-ranging review covering many topics, including accommodation needs. Issues relating to the implementation of the project team's recommendations will be addressed when its report has been completed.
