Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of bits and, as the Deputy suggested, we will be able to come back to some of this in later questions. The first thing is we need to do a full, proper, external review of PhD supports. I expect to be in a position to announce the details of that this week. We need to look at it root and branch, at all the elements of support, at what other countries do, at what we do well and at what we must do better. We need to be aware of the inconsistencies that exist with different levels of stipends administered by different people. How does that work and how does that interact with our PhD students? I am happy to engage with the Deputy later in the week on that. We have a committee meeting tomorrow evening as well.

I will have more time when answering later questions to address the broader issue of student accommodation. There are two issues, which are affordability and supply. This question relates to affordability. We took a number of measures in the budget to reduce fees and improve grants, with a bonus student grant payment. We are talking about another measure which we are taking. I accept that the Deputy is welcoming it. It will provide access to the tax relief on rent for students and their parents. That also helps with affordability.

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