Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take the point on the wider constraints facing students and, in most instances, parents given those costs. Since the launch of the strategy, 18,729 bed spaces have been completed or are in the planning process. The figure is broken down as follows: 5,500 bed spaces have been completed; 4,800 bed spaces are under construction; planning has been approved for nearly 8,000 bed spaces and a further 472 bed spaces are in the planning process awaiting a final decision. Student accommodation and the affordability of rent are issues we need to tackle together on a cross-Government basis. I have not yet sat down with my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, to discuss that but I will certainly do so very shortly.

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