Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and Ministers for the extra time. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the USI student groups around the country and the many third level institutions, especially student representatives from the South East Technological University, SETU, in my region.

Third level participation in rentals has been a limited offering in Ireland over many years and has been supported by the informal student letting arrangements that have been a large and very necessary feature of the accommodation supply for students in all areas of the country. In his opening statement, Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, recognised the contribution of the private rental sector in the provision of student accommodation. We all know that comes in a range of letting circumstances, largely informal, whether a single room, room share, digs where meals are supplied, etc. Another issue that arises constantly in respect of accommodation is duration, that is, whether a room is available for the duration of the school year or a full year, and what students are charged.

Accommodation has often been haphazard in the past, but circumstances have improved as colleges and the private sector have invested in student placements. This means we now have different tiers of accommodation, which is largely reflected in pricing. Anybody who is lucky enough to get student accommodation in a lottery in first year knows the quality may differ quite a lot from what is available to them in subsequent years of renting in the private sector. That is a fact of life.

There has been a failure, in particular with the development of the TU sector, to provide adequate student accommodation. I want to speak to the institution in my area, SETU. Before it was amalgamated, the campus in Waterford came under the auspices of WIT, the first IT in the country to invest in student accommodation. It did so through its own devices and the successful management of its finances. It provided approximately 600 student residential places, which are still in place today. They provide income for the college to help it meet its overheads. That was the model proposed for TUs when the Bill was being put together, namely that the TU sector would be allowed to borrow for student accommodation and provide that accommodation for their capital requirements. In the future, whatever moneys and recurring revenues were available would go back into the institution to help it support classes, placements, schools, courses and all of the rest. That has not happened.

We are lucky in Waterford that the private sector is trying to step in to fill part of the void as we have a significant difficulty in providing student accommodation in the south east, especially Waterford. Why have we not moved legislation forward? One thing begets the other. Our Taoiseach, who was the Minister for higher education, the first nominated to that position, has given a consistent promise that a borrowing framework would be ascribed to the TU sector that would allow it to borrow off-balance sheet and develop its own student accommodation proposals. That legislation has not been passed and I understand we are now engaged in a review that will certainly go beyond the life of this Government to try to get any movement. There is an inability the system to bake in the capital development requirements that are so important to the development of the TU sector. As that is part of the Minister's portfolio, I ask him to take that on.

Something else that needs to be noted in the provision of third level education is the brain drain factor that affects the regions, especially the south east where we do not have a national university of Ireland and SETU is the only stream of education available. Despite that, given the level of investment we are third or fourth tier in terms of capital infrastructure. I again ask the Minister to take that on.

Students in Dublin, in particular, are now being asked to pay for a full year as opposed to a full academic year, which is becoming a problem. That seems rather unfair, particularly when those flats have been let out by college campuses when students are not there. Whatever about bringing in the RTB to try to formalise the arrangements regarding student accommodation, this is something that should be examined legally. If provision is being given for a let for a year, that provision should be there. If families are forced to take a letting for a year, they should be able to access that property outside of the academic year. I ask the Minister to examine that.

We need to examine the protections for informal lettings. The idea that students cannot lock a door is not acceptable. None of us wants to live in shared accommodation where we cannot feel secure. The first requirement of student accommodation, in particular third level accommodation, is for students to worry about their academic careers rather than their safety or accommodation provision. That should be a given.

I ask the Minister of State to look at formalising some type of licensing arrangement and perhaps a standardised letting arrangement. I am not sure about the idea of getting the RTB involved in this process. It already has a very heavy remit. There is already a lot of dysfunction in the private letting sector without the board having to deal with licensing student accommodation.

There are good ideas in the Bill. They should be supported. We want to give more children the opportunity to access third level education. A significant part of that is ensuring the availability of affordable and safe student accommodation. The Bill has merit in the provisions that address this requirement. Those provisions certainly should be supported.

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