Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

To be perfectly honest, for most people, the announcement this week would have sounded like there was to be very substantial new investment in student accommodation. We sometimes need to look at how announcements and the media reporting around them are perceived and the hopes and concerns among students they can lead to. It is just not good enough for announcements to be made that can give people hope only for us not to deliver. If we look at what this three-point policy actually is, we will see that it will not mean any meaningful change. I do not see anything fundamentally different from what the Minister has told us about. He told us that his Department is going to start co-funding the construction of on-campus accommodation but, as he said, that has been under way since November 2022. He also told us that, in exchange for this funding, below-market rates will have to be provided for certain rooms. Again, that is part of the existing model. The likes of DCU are doing that. He further told us that use will be made of the rent-a-room scheme. This was first introduced in 2001. Will he tell us exactly what in this announcement is different from what has previously been announced?

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