Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The Social Democrats support this Bill and we are very happy to co-sign it. This legislation is very important in ensuring that students are not penalised for complying with public health measures, which is what happened last year. Students who could not avail of accommodation they had paid for several months in advance were charged in full for it. In effect, they were penalised for complying with public health measures. This is important legislation and I hope there will be cross-party support for it, including from the Government parties. It is good to see Opposition parties co-operating on this and I thank Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éireann-Union of Students in Ireland for the work it has done to highlight this issue.

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