Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I mentioned, we have increased the student assistance fund, which will assist students who are in financial distress and need assistance. We have brought in affordability measures on student accommodation, including capping increases in rent pressure zones. Legislation has also been passed to restrict the upfront payments students used to have to make, payments of up to €3,500, which are no longer allowed. There is also an option to pay monthly and, crucially, we are giving technological universities the ability to borrow to build student accommodation because a big part of the solution is more student accommodation on, or near, campus on a cost-rental basis.

The difficulty we have, which has been identified by the universities, is that the cost of building is now so high that even on a cost-rental basis it still results in high rents. It is still the view of the Government that a major part of the solution, given the huge expansion in the number of students and the fact more people are attending third level education than ever before, and from more diverse backgrounds than ever before, which should be celebrated, is more on-campus and near-campus accommodation.

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