Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy makes a fair point. It is up to each institution to consider reserving some accommodation for first year students. The rationale for that is that they will not know what college they are going to or what course they will be doing until well after second, third and fourth years know what they are returning to because of the delay with leaving certificate results. This year, we have tried to provide as much certainty and clarity as we can much earlier than we were able to last year. Last year, these matters were still being discussed in August and maybe even in early September. The Government has published its plan for the safe return to on-site campus activity. We have said what people can expect to happen on site at a minimum. We have also said that we will provide clarity about large-scale lectures on 19 July. I agree about the need to increase purpose-built student accommodation. We have been too reliant on the market and therefore pitted students against, for example, families trying to rent the same houses. I hope, as part of our housing for all plan, to be able to accelerate the delivery of college-owned student accommodation.

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