Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A memo was brought to Cabinet to investigate banning evictions, as was done in the previous lockdown. This is sorely needed and should never have been removed. It was needed even before the Covid-19 pandemic. Where is the same urgency when it comes to students? Students are in a unique position in the rental market as they are often asked to pay months in advance. This runs into thousands of euro for hard-pressed families and students. When requesting refunds for unused accommodation they are told that there is no protective legislation in place for student renters and that they will not be entitled to their money back. That is not good enough and successive Governments have failed students and their families. There are some small-scale landlords who rent one property or even a room in their own home. Their ability to get by is important but students and their families should not always be the ones shouldering the financial burden. Will the small-scale operators letting to students be able to access the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, if they let students out of the lease and give refunds? We cannot just leave these students having paid thousands of euro to private landlords. We have to intervene.

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