Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 April 2018
618. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the progress that has been made to increase purpose-built student accommodation by the end of 2019; the number of beds that have been built to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18099/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government’s Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan For Housing and Homelessness identifies the important contribution that increased student accommodation provision can make to resolving the overall housing undersupply problem. Rebuilding Ireland builds on the close cooperation of my Department with the Department of Education and Skills on the issue of student accommodation over a number of years, including through the Inter-Departmental Working Group on Student Accommodation.
Many of the issues raised at the Working Group forum translated into specific actions of the Rebuilding Ireland action plan, aimed at supporting the development of new purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) nationally and meeting the accommodation needs of our growing third-level population into the future. Specific legislative responses to assist student accommodation projects were provided for in the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016. These included the fast-tracking of planning applications for construction projects with greater than 200 bedspaces directly to An Bord Pleanála and the availability of financing from the Housing Finance Agency to the Higher Education Institutes specifically for new student accommodation projects.
The National Student Accommodation Strategy was also launched in July 2017 which includes eight key targets and 27 actions to support the delivery of an increased supply of purpose-built student accommodation.
These and other measures are contributing to the significant increase in the delivery of PBSA nationally. From the publication of Rebuilding Ireland in July 2016 to the end of Q1 2018, a total of 2,687 new student bed spaces had been completed, with a further 5,842 bed spaces under construction and planning permissions granted for an additional 8,636 bed spaces.
These figures indicate that the objective of delivering an additional 7,000 new bedspaces nationally by end of 2019 will be achieved with significant potential to provide further PBSA, if planned projects proceed through construction.
