Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests. I will not make a big speech but rather I have one or two points and a couple of questions. Maybe there can be a bit of back-and-forth. On 3 October, I was really struck by the number of students participating in the protest. If there were 10,000 people there that day, I would bet my right arm that at least half were students. They were pouring off buses from around the country. Students were there not for a day out but rather to make a very serious point about how the housing crisis is touching their lives on a daily basis. It is not as easy to get out on a Saturday as it is on a college day but I am confident there will be a strong representation of students from the colleges at the next protest to keep the pressure on the Government. It is on Saturday, 1 December.

There is much strong information in the report but there is one striking figure. On the night of the census in 2016, 8% of all people who listed themselves as being homeless in the State were students. That is nearly one in ten people. Ms Byrne has spoken about the phenomenon of students going to classes during the day, staying in libraries late and night before staying in a car at night and continuing studies the next day. Is she in a position to give the committee some more information about that? Is it continuing to happen and, if so, where is it happening? What impact is that having on students? How many people are in that position? I am sure she does not have an exact figure but perhaps she has a broad idea, which might be helpful.

I received a report about a public meeting held recently in Maynooth dealing with the establishment of a housing action group. There were people there from the town but there were many students there also. There were more than 60 people at a meeting on a weeknight. For those of us who are educating, agitating and organising public meetings on a regular basis, having more than 60 people at a public meeting tells us something is going on. I was not at the meeting but I understand that one of the points emerging from the discussion was another phenomenon. Landlords may have a house with three or four bedrooms but partitions start coming out near the start of term and the house would be subdivided. One room becomes two or three rooms. Instead of having three or four students in the house paying rent, there could be nine, ten, 11 or 12 students staying in little cubicles in partitioned rooms. I know of cases in Cork city with students being asked for €400 per month to cover such an arrangement where they are packed in like sardines.

Do the representatives from the USI have any information, even anecdotal, about that happening, how widespread it is or any facts and figures? If that could be shared with the committee it would shine a light on the reality on the ground?