Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his work. It has been a pleasure to work with him in recent years on the work he has done in the south east, but in particular for Carlow. We are speaking about student accommodation. This morning I took a quick look at the rental sites and saw that the average rent for one month in Carlow is €1,400 for one- or two-bedroom apartment-style accommodation. Five options are available at the moment, which is awful, but in other places there are none at all. What the Minister said about student accommodation is right. Location, cycle lanes and transport are all so important. Carlow County Council will start its spatial plan on 1 October, so planning for housing and accommodation will be crucial for students as well as for people who require housing.

I also want to talk about Carlow College, St. Patrick's. As the Minister stated, talks are going on at the moment with SETU about integration. Does the Minister have any update on where we are? I believe we need to have this done urgently. This is so important. I know the Minister is working on that with me.

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