Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The problem is that rather than the Government making a decision that we have to have the necessary student accommodation to avoid a student accommodation crisis and to make it affordable, the onus is being put on the colleges to provide it. The result is that we are getting accommodation such as that being offered at UCD, which costs €14,000 a year. I made a general suggestion to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, but he did not take it up. The Seamark Building, a multistorey building located opposite the Merrion Gates, has been sitting empty for ten years. I suggest that the Government buys the building and refurbishes it for student accommodation. Nothing the Minister said really suggests to me that we are not going to face major problems again this year. Does the Minister agree with me that, although HAP is not an ideal scheme by any means compared to the direct provision of student accommodation or any form of accommodation, we should at least be bringing the rents down to affordable levels for student by providing subsidies such as HAP?

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