Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to sound a cautionary follow-up on Deputy Lahart's point. From work I did on the housing committee at the start of this Dáil, there is potential for great growth in terms of the third level sector and the ability to attract international students. I think some of that is being realised but I think - a hobbyhorse of mine - there has to be a correlation between the willingness of third level institutions, particularly in Dublin, to engage in expansion and course building with the ability to try to attract in third level students and the almost compulsory requirement to provide accommodation. What we are seeing - I believe we will see a horrendous scene if this is not addressed in the Grangegorman area - is a displacement of traditional housing where local people will not be able to acquire accommodation because of it. I would be supportive of any incentive to provide student accommodation but there is a necessity from an industry side to be willing to get into that and from the colleges side not to take on the notion that adding 1,000 or 2,000 students to a third level institute of technology or university, no matter how commercially beneficial it is to the college, without correctly assessing the impact it has on the greater community can be damaging on a whole host of levels. Consequently, I share the worries about the accommodation side.