Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 October 2015
138. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills the measures she will take to provide for affordable student accommodation; her views that the lack of such accommodation has an impact on accessibility to third level education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33977/15]
View answerThe Government fully appreciates the concerns regarding the availability of accommodation for students and the HEA report, Student Accommodation: Demand & Supply, which I published recently sets out clearly that the demand for student accommodation outstrips supply in certain areas and will continue to do so in the coming years.
There are 13 useful recommendations in this report and I have introduced two immediate actions to begin this work. Firstly, the awarding of a grant of €30,000, which will be provided by the HEA to the Union of Students' (USI) in Ireland to progress short-term solutions for students in need of accommodation.
Secondly, the establishment of an inter-departmental steering group to oversee this work, the first meeting of which took place on 1 October 2015. This group will provide a coordinating mechanism to ensure that the higher education institutions have access to information on new potential funding and delivery models. A significant number of Action points have been identified for follow up arising from the first meeting.
The full report can be accessed at http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Education-Reports/Report-on-Student-Accommodation-Demand-and-Supply.pdf
