Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Many Members, including myself, have been vocal about the need for a borrowing framework to be put in place for IOTs. DIT is building student accommodation in Grangegorman but the mechanism it is using to finance it is costing more than it would if DIT had the same borrowing power as universities. That will feed into increased rents for students, which means this is a lose-lose scenario.

Thankfully, the general government debt is very much on its way down. Surely there is scope to provide for modest borrowing by IOTs. Ten years ago, it was envisaged that they would have the power to borrow but this has not been acted on. This is an urgent issue. Ministers and officials can have all the meetings they want, with the Department of Education and Skills meeting the Minister's Department and the housing Department pushing another provision but action is needed quickly.

I spoke to one IOT president who had visited America. He met students who wanted to attend his institute but their parents asked him where they would stay and he had nowhere to put them. If he were able to borrow money, he would be able to put them up and it would be a win-win scenario for everybody.

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