Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister for being with us. Student accommodation is a big and serious issue. I have met with student unions, parents and students. I also visited Maynooth University last week. It is delighted with the announcement of the new student beds, which are very much welcome. It remains to be seen whether these will keep up with all the new students.

The Minister mentioned digs. There are huge problems with digs. That is not where I would send students, as it is unregulated and insecure. I know the demand has to be met but digs are not something I recommend.

The other issue that could be coming up for students is that of the new system whereby if a tenant voluntarily leaves, a landlord can reset the rent up to market value. We know that students are being forced into the private market. Will there be protections for students in this area? That could be a big issue. Some of them end up having to do long commutes and work extra hours to pay these high rents and are just not taking up places because of it.

We spoke in the Dáil recently about the issue of mental health. When will the report of the national consultation on the national student mental health and the suicide prevention framework be released? The last submission to that was in April. When will that document be released?

I have been contact with a lot of ETB staff. They are being put on an adult education contract so they are only being paid for ten months. ETBs are hiring new part-time teachers instead of giving current teachers full-time jobs. There has been a downgrading of teachers in ETBs to adult educators even though many of them work in primary schools. There is no back pay, although this was promised 12 months ago. There has also been a downgrading of pension entitlements under the new adult educator contract. When will a fairer contract be negotiated for teachers at ETBs?