Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As we know, Ireland has an accommodation crisis which is particularly prevalent for students. It is estimated that we need at least 25,000 additional units of student accommodation. Each year we witness thousands of students scrambling for accommodation. The lucky ones might be able to find something close to the university or college they are attending, but it is more likely that they will take whatever is available. If they want to attend university and study for their degrees, they cannot be fussy in a restricted rental market. Many students face the real prospect of missing out on their courses because they cannot find accommodation. The demand for student accommodation is far out-stripping supply. Each new academic year highlights the chronic shortage of rental accommodation for students. Rental costs have sky-rocketed, particularly in cities such as Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. The shortage of student rentals is adding extra pressure to the existing problems across the entire housing market.

Many students have a real and legitimate fear that they will not be able to find somewhere to live during the academic year. Students whose families live near universities and college are considered to be lucky because they can live at home when they are going to college. Last year, at the beginning of the new college year, it was noted that the level of available rental properties was one of the lowest ever to be recorded. In the past two years there has been a marked decline in the number of available properties during the months of July and August, which are normally two of the busiest months for the rental market. This chronic shortage of accommodation has led to escalating rents. Students also have to struggle with increasing living expenses and third level costs. The difficulty in finding accommodation, exacerbated by arbitrary and excessive rent increases caused by unregulated student tenancies, is deterring foreign students from coming to study in Ireland. Students have enough with which to cope. I have outlined some of the pressures they face.

Last April students from Dublin City University staged sleep-outs to highlight the lack of stability and security in student rentals. They also highlighted a clear injustice in the rental sector. The Bill hopes to cover the anomaly in question. There was significant controversy at Shanowen Square and Shanowen Hall near Dublin City University, in my constituency, when it emerged that rents were set to increase by between 20% and 27% from the last academic year to the coming academic year. This would have seen monthly rents of between €925 and €966 being charged. Since 2014 rents in Shanowen Hall have increased by over 100%, which is absolutely crazy. The Bill has been designed to give protection and rights to students by limiting rent hikes through the use of rent pressure zones. It is very important for students that Deputies support our Private Members' Bill because it is a signal that we support a rights-based approach to education. Rents are already far too high. It is time we stopped this escalation. We need to protect the rights of students.

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