Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

Most students rent their accommodation in the private sector. Every autumn they struggle to find accommodation. Those who are lucky enough to do so pay extortionate rents. Others, who are not so lucky, face very long commutes. The consequences on their lives for their studies are very serious. In worst case scenarios, students have had to defer their course or have dropped out of their studies because of this financial pressure. Rather than supporting students, what the Government proposes to do is to make life even more difficult for them - to force rents up even further. We heard mixed messages from the Government last week. It was going to help students and then it was not. Now, we know it will not. How does the Taoiseach defend the Government's policy to students and their families, who face into extortionate rents and all of that pressure?

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