Mr. Jimmy Deenihan:

Of course. The Deputy raised a very good point because there have been bad experiences in the past. We first have to look at it seriously to see if we can find a proper approach to it. That would be part of it. At present, we have a burn-in system where people in the private sector will shortly build a STEM building in MTU, Tralee. Others will also be built throughout the country under the same system, but there are considerations that would have to be looked at. If there is private funding, then who owns the property? That is a big issue at present in another field. These considerations are very important because we do not want, as Dr. Prendergast mentioned, five-star accommodation and then ordinary accommodation that would cost a lot less.

The best approach would probably be for the TUs to borrow the money and build accommodation themselves and then get back the funding over a period through renting to our students. Rather than the accommodation being built for profit, it should just accommodate our students. That would be a very good model if it could be done.