Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief because I know there is a packed agenda today and Deputy Ó Broin has covered a lot already.

We cannot underestimate the impact the housing crisis is having on students, particularly those from a rural area. My constituency is a mix of rural and urban areas and I am sure other members of the committee will have constituents in a similar situation. A student might work hard, get the points and get the college place but many students cannot take up their places because of the lack of accommodation and the issue of affordability. Many students even have to drop out after first year because they cannot manage the issues of the cost and quality of accommodation that they are expected to live in. Unfortunately, some 60% of students do not receive their deposit back. There is a myth out there that students are not the best tenants but that is unfair. Many students get lumped into that category and, therefore, there are issues around raising problems with landlords and getting back their deposit.

It might seem like a trivial thing to some people but students work part time, at weekends and during the summer just to get that deposit together and that can be the difference between them staying in college or not because the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant has not been increased for the past ten years and that has an impact. We all know people who do not qualify for the SUSI grant and are struggling as it is, so it is important that it is clarified and that they have stronger rights in this area.

It is also a big issue for parents, particularly when they are sending their kids off to college for the first time or when they are leaving home for the first time. They need to have some sort of reassurance. We talk a lot about the housing crisis in this institution and we also talk a lot about mental health and the well-being of students and young people. This is a small issue but it can help with the quality of accommodation, students having their rights respected and being able to access education. It is not fair that just because a student is from a rural area that might be a three hour drive from Dublin that he or she might not have the same opportunity as somebody else.