Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. He is entirely right. For the technological universities to reach their full potential and indeed for the full benefit to be seen for the regions of Ireland we need to see the provision of student accommodation. That never happened when they were institutes of technology.

I think Waterford Institute of Technology may have, of its own volition, provided some student accommodation but I do not believe any other institute was in a position to do so. I am determined that does not happen with the technological universities because I really believe, for a variety of societal, economic and educational reasons, that it makes so much sense to look at providing student accommodation in the regions. The student accommodation policy approach that I brought to Cabinet only this week will provide for that. I have said consistently that 2024 will be the year in which we invite technological universities to bring forward their proposals so that we can engage on them. We are only 18 days into the year and I expect to be in touch with the TUs this month in relation to those proposals coming forward and then we will engage with them, just as we have engaged with the traditional universities, to determine the best vehicle to advance these projects, to fund them and get them to design and planning stage 2. We need a pipeline of projects in regional Ireland for student accommodation.

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