Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 7 September 2018
307. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an increase in the provision of student accomadation (details supplied) will be considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36337/18]
View answerThe Government is committed, though the NationalStudent Accommodation Strategy (NSAS), to meeting the accommodation needs of students.
The key to ensuring all students can access adequate accommodation, at a reasonable cost, is to increase supply. To date action under the National Student Accommodation Strategy has delivered a fast-track planning procedure for strategic housing developments, which includes student accommodation projects containing 200 or more bed spaces, under the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016. The Act also provides for Higher Education Institutes to borrow money from the Housing Finance Agency for the purposes of financing student accommodation provision.
The target in the Strategy was to facilitate the construction of 7,000 PBSA bed spaces by the end of 2019 and 21,000 by 2024. We are on track to meet, and likely exceed, these targets. Figures at the end of July indicate that over 4,000 bed spaces have been delivered in the past two years with a further 1,160 due for completion this month.
Moreover, the Government is committed to taking steps to improve the position of rent predictability for students, and the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government are working to develop proposals in this regard.
In the immediate term, the Government are supporting the USI #HomesforStudy campaign which aims to increase the numbers of rooms available in digs accommodation. This offers students an alternative to purpose built student accommodation. Information for homeowners on renting a room, or students looking for digs accommodation can be found on homes.usi.ie.
