Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing us time. Like all elected representatives, I am aware of the pressures on students seeking accommodation, especially in places like Limerick and Cork. When they cannot get accommodation, they have to travel every day by bus or some other way. Travelling from Killarney or Tralee to Limerick takes two hours. Going there and back adds four hours to the day for students. It is happening a lot. There are fewer going to Cork but it is still not fair. It is putting undue pressure and hardship on those families. This is something that happens especially to youngsters who do not know whether they will get a college place. Some people might not get an offer until the second round. The people who get places in the first round will have first refusal and those who come later might find there is no accommodation left at all. I have helped a lot of students to get accommodation from private landlords who have a room available.

This debate centres around giving more power to the RTB. I am not sure I want that. A total of 43,599 landlords have left the business. I put a lot of the blame for that on the RTB. I do not want students to be in any way hurt or wronged. They are at the start of their lives, trying to get on the ladder and get going. The answer is that we must provide more accommodation, especially in Cork and Limerick. The current situation is affecting people in Kerry in a way that is causing real hardship.

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