Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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38. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether there is a crisis in third level education developing as a result of student poverty, the chronic shortage and expense of student accommodation, the access barrier created by student fees and the low level per student subvention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49782/18]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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My question points to what I argue is a rapidly escalating crisis in almost every aspect of third level education.

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That crisis encompasses matters such as student poverty, the student accommodation crisis and the chronic underinvestment in third-level education generally. There has been an incredible 50% drop in investment per student since 2008. This crisis will bite very badly at every level and will cause hardship among many students unless we address it by means of significant increases in investment and assistance for students experiencing accommodation problems, poverty, difficulties paying fees and so on.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. This year alone, my Department will spend in excess of €400 million on access measures for further and higher education students. This includes circa €380 million on student grants and related activities, which is expected to benefit approximately 78,000 further and higher education students. In terms of access initiatives, under the national access plan approximately 16,000 students are expected to be assisted in 2018 through the student assistance fund at a cost of €9 million, whereas 12,000 students are expected to be assisted through the fund for students with disabilities at a cost of €10 million. Approximately 400 students will benefit from the 1916 bursary fund under the programme for access to higher education, PATH, at a cost of €2 million.

The national student accommodation strategy, NSAS, was published in July 2017 to enable an enhanced supply of student accommodation as part of the Rebuilding Ireland action plan. It set a target of 7,000 additional purpose-built student accommodation bed spaces to be delivered by the end of 2019 and construction of at least 21,000 bed spaces by 2024. This initial target is expected to be exceeded, with over 10,000 bed spaces either completed or on site as of October 2018. The Government is also developing measures to provide better rent predictability in purpose-built student accommodation in the forthcoming residential tenancies (amendment) Bill.

Finally, the block grant paid to higher education institutions includes a specific weighting to promote access to higher education. This involves an additional premium for all eligible access students. This takes account of the cost of additional measures to support the enrolment and retention of students from under-represented backgrounds. For those from targeted socioeconomic groups and mature students, this is applied for the first two years of course duration to reflect the higher support needs during this period. For people with disabilities, a further weighting is applied for the entire length of the course to reflect the higher support resources required.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It sounds good until we look at the facts. With regard to access, 90% of students in Donnybrook attend university but 16% of students in Darndale do so. This reflects the fact there are so many different barriers to access. The cost of living per annum while studying at third level is €12,000, which is a big expense. We have some of the highest registration fees anywhere in Europe and accommodation costs increased 11.5% in the first quarter of 2018 alone.

Ms Michelle Byrne, vice president of the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, spoke at a meeting we held during the week and she told me an incredible story that she says is typical. She related how a young postgraduate student is travelling every day from Cork to Dublin and back again to attend her third-level institution because she cannot afford student accommodation. At Dublin City University, student accommodation providers tried to increase rents by 27%. The Irish Universities Association has pointed out that we are now have one of the lowest levels of investment per student anywhere in Europe and, as already stated, that investment has dropped 50% since 2008. There was only a 1% overall increase in the recent budget, which is not good enough.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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There are two aspects to access to third-level education. The first is providing the platform to ensure students stay on after the junior certificate to sit the leaving certificate. I came across a very positive story at Larkin community college in Dublin's north-east inner city. When I spoke with the principal and staff at the college, I was informed that there is an 80% progression rate from leaving certificate to third level, including for trades and apprenticeships. It is an ambitious school and it is able to compete on the points scale as well, with students getting into the top courses and universities. There are examples of the fact that people will get to third level if the support system is provided.

The Deputy's second point related to the barriers of cost and I can pick that up in my county, with parents making the decision as to whether it is affordable to send a son or daughter to college in Dublin. These are the questions on the minds of parents. We need to continue an all-of-Government inclusive support. I acknowledge Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil for tabling their motions, which we support, seeking to ensure that we can have more supports in high-pressure zones and where the rental costs are high. We must continue to work in an all-of-Government and inclusive manner because this is such an important matter.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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There has been a proliferation of private developments of student accommodation. This accommodation costs an absolute fortune. It is a complete waste of time because people are just making money out of a student accommodation crisis. We need purpose-built low-cost student accommodation on or near campuses. That needs significant investment. I will make a simple point on overall investment in third-level education. We give €700 million in research and development tax credits, mostly to big multinationals in this country. That money should be redirected to our universities and third-level education. Instead of giving money to Apple and Google through tax breaks for so-called research and development, it should go to our universities in order to offset the chronic underinvestment to which I refer.

This crisis is taking a serious toll on students. We have the fourth highest rate of youth suicide in the world. The USI report indicates an absolutely massive demand for counselling services in universities, with tens of thousands of students needing counselling and a large number reporting burnout or an inability to carry on because of the stress they are being put under on all fronts, including in the context of costs, accommodation, overcrowding, etc. There is a serious problem and we need a hell of a lot more investment and support to address the crisis.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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There is no question but that this brings pressure on students and parents when they are trying to provide the best education for students. I know some students go on their own and do not have that support. I realise that there is pressure. There is an acknowledgement that we must ensure there is accommodation on campuses. A number of important provisions in the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016, which was passed by this Oireachtas, facilitate higher education institutes in borrowing money from the Housing Finance Agency for the purpose of financing student accommodation provision on campus. That is happening not just in the capital but throughout the country. Universities and other third-level institutions are considering at ways to make more accommodation available for students. There are also rapid planning applications for student accommodation developments with in excess of 200 student beds. They are made directly to An Bord Pleanála.

We must continue to focus on affordability and what universities can do. We should also acknowledge that universities and other third-level institutions are under financial pressure as well but we must examine ways to keep affordability at the heart of this conversation.