Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Fifteen minutes ago, the Taoiseach told the Dáil we do not want students living in hotel rooms. However, the Government has failed to stop students being forced to do precisely that. It is not just hotel rooms. In Cork city, 100 students are living in one hostel on Wellington Road at the moment. Officers of the student union in UCC tell us that more than 1,000 students have no proper place to stay. Student unions across the country are reporting significant numbers deferring their courses simply because they cannot secure accommodation. It would not have taken a rocket scientist to foresee this crisis. Student unions have been warning the Government for some time as to what was coming down the track and that the residential tenancies legislation and the change in regard to the colleges was not going to sort it for this year.

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