Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to tease that through with the Deputy but the most important element is that different aspects of licensing versus tenancy have different rights. I have a copy of the UCD licence and I am happy to give it to the Deputy. There are very specific details contained in it about what a licensee is entitled to and the service he or she will get and can expect. It is very different to a tenancy agreement. This is about looking to make sure we have the right legislation to protect people and to make sure that if we intervene in this area we can give the students the protection they need. We must ensure the legislation cannot be challenged and fail at a later stage.

When we debated rent pressure zones and changes in that regard I recall that a lot of our work was based on scientific data to make sure we got it right, that we would not lose a challenge if it happened and by intervening in a positive way that we could defend. We are not confident that the Bill put forward by Sinn Féin would put us in that position as there is still a bit of work to be done behind those ideas. It is about more than the legislation being brought forward, it is also about the rationale behind it. We are all aware that it is important and we all know what we have to do. We still have to gather all the data and the evidence to show the necessity for intervening in this space. We need to do this and add into the work we have been doing. This work is ongoing with the Department of Education and Skills and my Department. We have had several meetings, but this work needs to be added into the legislation - or whatever we bring forward - to try to make it work.

A conversation is also needed on whether or not to amend the existing legislation as proposed in this Bill or to bring in a specific Bill to deal with this issue. It might be better achieved if we have a specific Bill to deal with student-specific accommodation. I will not say if that is right or wrong yet; it is for looking at and for involving Members. It is not about taking over their work, robbing it and bringing it back in a month's time in another form. That is not what we are about. I believe that all Members genuinely want to bring about a solution. This is why we will not oppose the Bill. We cannot, however, accept it in its current form.

The Bill focuses, in particular, on ensuring that the annual rent increase limit of 4%, as it applies to certain dwellings in rent pressure zones, will also apply to student-specific accommodation provided under licence. A licensing framework, however, might best suit the business model of student-specific accommodation providers, rather than trying to bring them under the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Acts, which do not naturally fit with students who generally occupy their accommodation for around eight months of the year. There is a lot more involved in the licence, depending on whether it is public or private.

There is a risk that the expected supply of student accommodation coming on stream could be negatively affected by the proposed application of the Residential Tenancies Acts to student-specific accommodation provided under licence agreement. It does not mean that we do not intervene. It does not mean that we do not do anything, but we have to measure it and balance it to make sure we get it right. There is a fair increase in accommodation being brought through the system.

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