Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her question. I am very much aware of the student protest that is taking place today. In Ireland in 2023, there are more people attending third-level and higher education than ever was the case in the past. People attending higher education and further education come from more diverse and more non-traditional backgrounds than ever was the case in the past. Students graduating today are more likely to get employment immediately after graduation than ever was the case in the past. They are good things that we should celebrate and progress that the Deputy should acknowledge.

When it comes to the next budget, I can guarantee that students will not be forgotten. They were not forgotten in the last budget. In the last budget, we reduced college fees and increased the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant. We made it easier for people to get the SUSI grant. We extended the rent credit to students and their parents if their parents were paying the rent. That was worth more than €1,000 per year to most students. I acknowledge, of course, that student accommodation can be hard to find and often can be very expensive. We are ramping up investment when it comes to student accommodation. Compared to this time last year, there are 900 more student beds or student apartments than was the case, and that is in publicly funded institutions. If we add privately provided student accommodation, we can add another 2,000 to that. Therefore, just since this time last year, there are approximately 900 additional student beds in publicly funded higher education institutions with an additional 2,000 being provided by the private sector. We are also taking other actions. The rent-a-room scheme, for example, is very popular at the moment whereby people can rent out a room in their house or apartment and earn up to €14,000 without paying any income tax. We have now changed the rules so that if somebody rents out a room in their house or apartment to a student or anyone else, it does not affect his or her eligibility for a medical card. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is working on proposals to extend that to people who are in social housing. Many are located very close to college campuses, which is a lot of spare rooms. His proposal is to make sure that somebody who is in social housing can rent out a room without it affecting his or her rent or eligibility for a medical card. We are also investing in purpose-built student accommodation. Since 2016, only seven years or so ago, the number of student beds and student apartments has increased by 13,000, which is a very considerable number. As we speak, there are a further 8,000 under construction. Therefore, what the Deputy is calling for us to do is already well under way. It is happening before her eyes, if she cares to open them.

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