Dr. Deirdre Lillis:

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach, Teachtaí Dála agus Seanadóirí. TU Dublin has more than 27,000 students and 3,500 staff across five campuses: Grangegorman, Tallaght, Blanchardstown, Aungier Street and Bolton Street. We offer programmes, from apprenticeships to PhDs, in science, engineering, business, arts and tourism, driving talent and innovation for Dublin and Ireland. Ranked highest for graduate employability in the city, we pride ourselves on opening career doors for students from all backgrounds. Our students reflect Ireland’s diversity, representing every county and 138 nationalities.

Our surveys show that 46% of our students commute over 60 minutes, while 13% commute more than 90 minutes to class. I welcome the chance to discuss student accommodation. Housing availability and affordability directly affect access, well-being and Ireland’s ability to develop talent. Dublin faces a severe shortage of purpose-built, affordable options. TU Dublin currently has no on-campus accommodation. Adding student beds across our campuses would transform campus life. Student housing is more than a place to sleep; it builds well-being, belonging, academic success and peer learning. While some students choose to live at home, many face three-to-four-hour round trips because accommodation is either unavailable or unaffordable. This is exhausting, distressing, unfair and risks students dropping out.

Practice-based learning is central at TU Dublin. We partner with employers to give students real-world experience through placements and projects. Without accessible accommodation, the quality of work-integrated learning and our graduates’ work-readiness are at risk. It is important also to note that TU trains the electricians, engineers, apprentices and tradespeople who are vital to Ireland’s construction and engineering sectors. Enrolments in these fields must be supported because they are fundamental to Ireland’s economic growth, social inclusion and national infrastructure.

Our campuses are beacons of opportunity. On-campus accommodation would energise Tallaght, Blanchardstown and Grangegorman campuses, for example, especially in the evenings and at weekends. It would enable year-round community, enterprise and academic use. We are open to innovative models, including dual-use accommodation for enterprise or other key workers outside of term time or week-weekend models, adding capacity to the wider housing ecosystem.

We must not forget that some students will always struggle with affordability. For others, personal circumstances will make it impossible. We must remember that TUs were founded to provide accessible education through strong local community links, including to students who are the first in their families to attend higher education. In this debate, we must ensure any investment in additional student accommodation is balanced with convenient travel options and other essential services for all students.

A key enabler is a borrowing framework for TUs. Even modest borrowing would let us deliver student accommodation and enhanced services, while protecting the State’s balance sheet. The first graduate of a technological university was more than 130 years ago from Kevin Street, but the upcoming Seanad election is the first time TU graduates will be able to vote. TU graduates helped build this State, and TU students deserve opportunities equal to those of their counterparts in traditional universities. TUs must have the same access to borrowing frameworks, capital supports and State-backed financing. TU Dublin strongly supports the technological universities association’s pre-budget submission, which calls for capital funding to meet rising student demand and investment in technology, estates and cybersecurity. We welcome the current programme for Government’s commitments on State-financed student accommodation and borrowing frameworks for TUs. We urge the forthcoming student accommodation strategy to 2035 to meet these commitments.

I thank the committee for its work and the opportunity to engage in this debate. We want our young people to have a full, meaningful college experience equal to or better than that of their parents, whatever their circumstances. TU Dublin stands ready to work with the Government, the technological university sector and stakeholders to deliver affordable student accommodation while improving services for all students. Is bunriachtanas é seo d’fhorbairt shóisialta agus gheilleagrach na hÉireann. This is vital for Ireland’s social and economic development. Go raibh mile maith agaibh.