Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 July 2022
64. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the engagements he has had with a view to increasing the provision of on campus accommodation for students. [35749/22]
View answerSince becoming Minister, both I and my Department officials have engaged and continue to engage on as ongoing basis with the Minister and Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the wider higher education sector and relevant stakeholders on student accommodation issues including within the context of the advancement of the Government's Housing for All policy. Fifteen meetings have taken place this year.
As a country, we know that we need to dramatically increase the supply of all types of housing and accommodation, including student accommodation. That is why the Government has launched Housing for All, led by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage setting out a series of actions which will be delivered to address the housing crisis. The plan is backed by the largest housing budget in the history of the State to transform our housing system, in excess of €20 billion.
In recent weeks I have met with the presidents and chairs of all the traditional universities and technological universities to discuss any immediate proposals they may have identified or be able to identify in relation to any additional student accommodation provision that may be pursued in the short to medium terms and my Department is continuing to liaise with the higher education institutions in this regard.
In this context the Department understands that hundreds of additional bed spaces are to be made available by HEIs for the start of the forthcoming academic year and that in addition a major development of 674 additional bed spaces underway at NUI Galway is expected to be delivered later in the academic year.
As with housing and accommodation policy more generally, there are significant issues to be considered including with respect to financing and funding, affordability issues, addressing viability gaps for developments, complying with State aid rules and ensuring value for money. The potential for interventions, taking account of these issues, is being considered in collaboration with relevant Departments across Government. I will be attending the Cabinet Housing next week to discuss student accommodation policy to discuss this further with my Cabinet colleagues.
