Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is worth noting it was almost a year ago this month that students from Dublin City University's Shanowen Court and then those in Cúirt na Coiribe were hit with those 27% rent increases. Like Deputy O'Brien, I pay tribute to the students who organised and mobilised on that issue. They held sleep-outs and they protested in their colleges and here at Leinster House. They met Deputies from almost all parties. It is those students and their political activity that forced it on the agenda of this committee. There was good bipartisan work by a range of members to put it on the Minister's agenda, and I acknowledge the Minister's openness in working out with those of us on the committee the best possible way of ensuring these students can be fully protected, particularly from excessive rent hikes.

It is a good example of what happens when young people become involved in politics, engage with the political system and politicians put aside party political differences and do the right thing. When we pass the Bill, it will have a very beneficial impact on students in both private sector, purpose-built student accommodation and on-campus accommodation.

The Residential Tenancies Act is highly complex, which we knew when we were drafting our legislation. The departmental staff have proposed good amendments that deal with the complexities of the Act well. I wish to ask some clarifying questions in order that we will all be clear on the record. Despite the word "tenancy" being used at the beginning of amendment No. 3, Part 4 of the Act, which concerns tenancy rights, will not apply in this case. Student accommodation providers and students will continue to operate under licensing arrangements but they will protected by, for example, the rent pressure zones and other aspects of the Residential Tenancies Act which have not been excluded.

Yesterday, I had a good meeting with the Irish Universities Association, which manages approximately 15,000 units of on-campus accommodation, that is, bed spaces of accommodation. It was a constructive engagement and the representatives were trying to get their heads around the Bill. They asked a couple of questions, in respect of which I am interested in hearing responses. Given that part of the universities' financing model to ensure that the student accommodation stacks up is what they do outside of term time, such as lettings for academic conferences and so on, none of that will change as a result of the Bill. It purely governs the licensing arrangements with students for the purposes of student accommodation. I assume, although the Minister might clarify, that the short-term letting regulations that we are passing will not have any impact on the bed spaces in the on-campus student-specific accommodation. That is something we need to think about. If it will have an impact, and if there are any issues with it, we might have to address that on Report Stage or when the Bill proceeds to the Seanad. If it will not, it would be helpful if that were clarified.

An issue that arises for the university sector, as well as for the approved housing body sector, which we will address at a later stage, is the requirement that universities will have after the Bill is enacted to register those licences, or what are referred to as "tenancies" in the amendment. Will the Minister provide some clarity on the requirement of the private and the university student-specific accommodation providers for registration, the cost thereof and the benefits of registering multiple tenancies at a discounted rate? Was there was any consideration for treating universities like approved housing bodies, given that they are registered charities, and allowing them the lower rate of the registration fee, or was there a reason which prevented that?

My final question might be better directed at the RTB. There is an administrative burden for student accommodation providers and the RTB. Given that there are 15,000 bed spaces but that the leases are not necessarily all for nine months, as some will be for three or six months, will the Minister briefly talk us through his conversations with the RTB on how to minimise the administrative burden for both the providers and the RTB in order that bed spaces can be turned over as smoothly as possible?