I am sure that there were business models for doing that. We must get this right, as we do not want to stop that supply, but encourage more. I agree that the balance is skewed against students, who are paying high rents. We will determine how to get that right.

We need to explore how we can legally protect all students from high accommodation costs regardless of whether they live in public or private accommodation or have signed tenancies or licence agreements, which are different. We need to provide students with a choice on where they wish to live during their college lives. Students should not be forced to take whatever accommodation they can get come August, which is often the case. Every Deputy has stories of family, friends and people whom we represent being left in the difficult situation of having to take up accommodation that is substandard compared with the price being charged. Instead of a raw deal, they should get value for money and reasonable accommodation that best suits their needs and is close to their courses. It is also worth pointing out that the 4% RPZ limit, if applied to student accommodation, would not be retrospective or cover new properties.

The measures proposed by Sinn Féin cannot be supported at this juncture on the basis that a more thorough analysis of their impacts by my Department and the Department of the Minister of State, whose name I forget at the moment-----

See this item in context