James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to be here today to discuss some of the issues facing students right around the country. I do so as the youngest Member of the Dáil. Of course, the Minister and I had something in common when we were first elected - recently I was admiring that photograph on the Minister's Twitter account of his election ten years ago this week - in that we were both elected to Dáil Éireann at an extremely young age. That brings with it not only the responsibility to our constituents but also for our age bracket and group in society. As the youngest Member of this House, and indeed one of the youngest parliamentarians in the world, I am quite conscious of that.

This pandemic has brought enormous challenges to Deputy Harris, as the Minister at Cabinet representing this Department, and I acknowledge that. However, one area I would like to see a greater focus placed on, and I hope the Minister would agree, is the issues faced by students who are renting in terms of their leases and their rights, which are incredibly precarious in many circumstances. The Union of Students in Ireland has been doing exceptional work in this regard. Obviously, I am quite limited, as I am supporting the Government, in how I can support votes that may be before the Dáil but one issue I would like to see the Government support is the effort by the Union of Students in Ireland to address some of the issues faced by students in terms of their tenancies. Unfortunately, many people were left out of pocket because they were dealt cruel hands in terms of how their landlords were treating them. The way in which many students were treated across the country was unacceptable. I would ask the Minister to focus on that area.

In the limited time I have left, I would also ask the Minister to give further consideration to some of the aspects of the Cassells report, which identified many of the funding shortfalls that fall within the Department's remit. Obviously, the universities are under extraordinary strain to receive funding from the Government. This has been clearly outlined, including in a number of steps within the Cassells report to address that. The Minister, the Department and the Government must give priority to that because Ireland needs to continue its efforts to remain a global leader in the area of education and higher education.

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