Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his remarks and reassure him that this is a high priority issue for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, so much so, as I alluded to in my opening remarks, that we now have a section within the Department that is dedicated to working with our HEIs to advance the provision of the much-needed student accommodation. That will be backed up by money. As I said previously, a number of initial projects are being discussed with a range of higher education institutions, including UCD. They all have to be looked at differently because they are not all the same. Different institutions are bringing forward different proposals, some of which are on-campus and some of which are off-campus. Commercial considerations and decisions have to be taken around that.

In relation to our technological universities, it is important to say that we are significantly advancing the commitment to follow through on the decision taken by Government to allow our technological universities to borrow in order to build on-campus, purpose-built student accommodation.

As the Deputy knows, the likes of UCD and the other universities can borrow, and that does not go onto the State’s balance sheet. Yet, for the former institutes of technology, which have now transitioned into the technological universities, that is an issue which has to be changed. In other words, any debt they accrue by providing purpose-built student accommodation will not go onto the State’s balance sheet in terms of the general State debt. To reassure the Deputy, it is a high priority for our Department, for UCD, as the Deputy articulated, as well as for every higher and third level education institution.

We made significant changes to the rent a room scheme in terms of the people who can avail of it. They will not, for example, lose some social welfare or other entitlements if they enter the rent a room scheme. They can earn up to €14,000 per annum tax free. It is a huge assistance and benefit to people who are seeking accommodation but also to the incomes of the people who are providing the accommodation. I would encourage more people to engage in it.

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