Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 October 2021
497. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the steps that are being taken to address the current student accommodation crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48339/21]
View answerHousing For All was published in September this year setting out the series of actions to be undertaken to address issues facing the housing system. It has the largest ever housing budget in the history of the State to transform our housing system, with in excess of €20bn in funding through the Exchequer, the Land Development Agency (LDA) and the Housing Finance Agency over the next five years to support these actions. The student accommodation sector is a subset of the broader housing market, and as such is impacted by many of the same factors affecting other parts of the housing market.
The National Student Accommodation Strategy is designed to ensure that there is an increased level of supply of purpose built student accommodation to reduce the demand for accommodation in the private rental sector by both domestic and international students attending our Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Several of the actions in this strategy centre around ensuring that HEIs have access to low-cost financing in order to support their building of student accommodation.
One of these actions involved the introduction of legislation to empower the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) to lend directly to HEIs for the development of student accommodation. This legislation was commenced in 2017, and so far three universities - TCD, UCC and UCD have had a total of €157 million in loans approved by the HFA, which will provide more than 1,400 new student bed spaces.
In June I, along with my colleagues the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, announced that €75 million of financing had been successfully sourced for the Council of Europe Bank for the building of student accommodation in universities.
Housing For All contains a commitment to support technological universities to develop purpose-built student accommodation where such a requirement exists, through access to appropriate financing, and a specific action in relation to legislating to allow for Technological Universities to borrow from the Housing Finance Agency. My officials and I will continue to work with colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to advance this.
My Department, together with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, is also engaging with all the universities, including the technological universities, to explore further options which may be available to increase the availability of student accommodation.
