Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That will also include standardised design, which is something the Acting Chair and I would both know in respect of national schools and secondary schools, which we lobby for in our constituencies. There is much standardisation of design by the Department of Education building unit, which has been quite successful in earlier delivery and cost control, which is important.

Part of the student accommodation response will also be public sector, on-campus, purpose-build student accommodation, which is what we are speaking about. We will also look at digs accommodation and maintaining the tax-free income that people who offer digs-type accommodation can earn, expanding that also to include other reliefs for people who have local authority tenants. We will also ensure the €14,000 tax free earning potential does not impact on other benefits such as social welfare and medical card entitlements. There is much going on in that space. This year was not as acute or critical as last year. Many more beds became available, particularly in the digs space. There has been a lot of building and delivery of purpose-built student accommodation. The pipeline is not turned off; it is working and delivering. There are a couple of numbers I wish to give the Acting Chair.