Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is right that there are a number of costs and levers some of which are not entirely within the control of his Department. Arguably the biggest cost for students is accommodation. It is far greater than fees or anything else. I realise this is an issue between the Minister's Department and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. What measures can be put in place in terms of allowing the TUs to borrow for their own student accommodation? How can we incentivise higher education institutions to provide more on-campus student accommodation preferably?