Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy knows, on a number of occasions I have brought to Cabinet short-term policy approaches that we could take to get student accommodation activated, particularly where they had planning permission. More recently, I did bring that longer term policy approach. That had a number of elements, including the vacancy element. There is not much of a mystery here. For the first time in the history of this State we want to provide taxpayers' funds to technological universities to help them build student accommodation. We want to help them to build student accommodation but we also want to help them to activate accommodation that may be available in their region. I have figures here from all local authorities that are home to a HEI campus and very significant numbers of properties have been deemed to be derelict.

For example, in the Deputy's city, Galway, there are 425 vacant properties and 32 derelict properties. I want to see if our universities can play a part in bringing some of them back to life as short-term solutions for student accommodation. That is simply it and we are looking forward to proposals coming in on what technological believe they can do by 15 March.

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