Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the witnesses and thank them for coming in. I have been speaking to a lot of students' unions. UCD students' union has said the nature of the two-tier student experience is no longer the norm; it has become a privilege. It is also saying that students are under severe stress. They are feeling isolated and lonely. This is because they are commuting because they cannot find accommodation. It limits their social opportunities. They cannot socialise on campus because they either have to go home or to digs.

There needs to be regulation around digs. We are becoming over-reliant on them. Some 71.9% of TUS students in digs do not have a contract. It is shocking to think that a student is in a room and has no security. The horror stories coming out of those digs need to be heard. They are really bad. Students are saying that they do not know who is sleeping in their bed at the weekend. In fact, one student came away with an illness because of it. They can only use certain rooms in the house. They have no lock on their door. They feel unsafe. We need to put in regulations around digs whether we like it or not. The licence is not enough for that. Some 35% said that their landlord kept the deposit unfairly, which is also part of the scam. As 42% of people do not receive funding, they are stuck in whatever digs they end up in. They are afraid to complain because they are afraid of losing their accommodation. No matter how bad it is, they are afraid to speak up about it. They should never have to feel like this.

Some students are taking up courses which are closer to home because they have no choice. This means they are doing courses they do not want to do. This is wrong. Some 41.5% are living with parents. They are adults. They do not want to live with their parents. They want to be able to have the whole social aspect of college, rather than having a long commute in the morning and another in the evening. They are not getting to experience what it feels like to be a student. According to students in Galway, students are being tied down by increasing costs, a rental system that favours landlords, and legislation that does little to protect them.

I note from the opening statements that €100 million was put into the short-term activation programme and up to 1,000 new PBSA beds are to be delivered, with 116 beds on track to be delivered for the 2025-26 academic year. How long it will take to put in the 1,000 beds if only 116 are being delivered in one year? I do not get how this can be described as short-term. I know the Department is operating under constraints and its officials are trying their best, but that is not good enough. Students feel that they are not being listened to and are being kicked to the kerb. Just over 12% say that this Government cares about students. That is the impact this is having on students' lives. They need to be listened to and we need to do more for them.