Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very conscious of the challenges faced by students with student accommodation. My Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are working closely together on these issues. As everyone in this House will know, the underlying issue is one of supply. We need to increase the supply of all types of accommodation, including student accommodation. That is why we launched Housing for All, led by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage which sets out a series of actions which will be delivered to address the housing crisis backed by a transformative budget of €20 billion.

In its ambition to deliver student accommodation, I acknowledge that the third level sector is facing the same issues which are affecting construction developments globally, including disrupted supply chains and other constraints. Very significant progress is being made in the Government's overall housing policy with both housing completions and commencements showing significant acceleration and the construction workforce back to pre-pandemic levels. Notwithstanding these trends, construction costs and other constraints are acting as a deterrent to institutions in proceeding with new developments. My Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are considering whether options may be open to us to support increased supply with affordable rental levels.

With this in mind, I am working with my officials to consider immediate options and those initiatives which can be achieved in the more medium term. I have recently written to all universities, technological universities and institutes of technology asking them to identify any potential local solutions which could contribute to increased supply ahead of the next academic year.

This may involve the repurposing of existing buildings. This is an important, real and sincere offer. We saw in Limerick that there was an ability to identify a local solution and some facility that could be adapted there, with funding provided through the council, I believe, and that being ready for September. I would like to see if there are other examples of that. There is an open offer to all higher education institutions, HEIs, in that regard.

More broadly, as for the medium-term strategic change that needs to happen, my Department is, as I said, working with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to examine how student accommodation can be incorporated into other developments aimed at boosting land supply, including the Land Development Agency's plans in Limerick, for example. In my view, student accommodation should form part of the overall residential mix.

I will update the Deputy further in a moment.

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