Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Next is Deputy Murnane O'Connor, who wishes to discuss plans to ensure adequate provision of student accommodation where?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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In Carlow.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Surprise, surprise,

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important issue. We were all delighted with the South East Technological University, SETU, strategy plan, which was launched this month. St. Patrick's in Carlow, which is the other college involved, is the second oldest third level institution in Ireland and a leader in education. The future is bright in the south east, particularly for Carlow-Kilkenny, but as the Minister of State can tell, we need to consider student accommodation in County Carlow. What plans are there and what is being put in place or developed? The Government is acutely aware of the challenges that students are facing now and will face when they return to third level in September.

I took a quick look at the rental sites. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartment-style unit in Carlow is €1,400. As of today, there are just five such units. While the student assistance fund is welcome, there is a considerable lack of bed spaces in campus accommodation. Bespoke housing is urgently needed. I reached out to Carlow County Council and SETU to ask them their plans. I was trying to get information. In fairness, Carlow County Council reverted to me and said that its policy on student accommodation was that it should be located within convenient distance of educational facilities by foot, bicycle or public transport and generally either within the college campus or appropriately zoned land. While this is welcome, it does not provide much information. Under Housing for All, Government approval has been secured to allow technological universities to borrow to build student accommodation. This will help increase availability, but is it happening?

What are the Department's plans to ensure that the students attending SETU at Carlow College will find adequate accommodation? I have been working with many students recently. Carlow being a university town is a game-changer for Carlow-Kilkenny. From speaking with families, the main issue is if students must stay overnight, particularly if they are from outside Carlow. We must ensure that there is proper student accommodation. It is a cost issue. Can anything be done to address it?

We have SETU, but we now need to look to the future. After the process to establish SETU was initiated, there were meetings for seven years. I was a Senator at the time. It took us a long time to get here, but we are here now. Do we in the south east need to set up another Oireachtas group to examine accommodation plans? This is about the bigger picture and affects Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Wexford. As the House knows, Carlow-Kilkenny is my concern. How do we put a proper plan in place? How do we work together and help SETU, Carlow County Council, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford? How do we play our part to ensure that we are providing proper accommodation for students who need it? If students cannot find anywhere, it is a worry for families. There is also the cost factor. The more accommodation we have, the less expensive it will be. What is the plan?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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It is like a Carlow-Kilkenny fest here this evening. I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for proposing this question and providing me an opportunity to update the House on the plans of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, to respond to the issues she has raised.

The Minister, Minister of State and their officials are actively addressing the availability of student accommodation, given the challenges in the wider rental market that have just been described by Deputy Murnane O'Connor.

Through Housing for All, the Government has approved the development of long-term and short-term policies and the provision of funding to increase the supply of purpose-built student accommodation. A dedicated student accommodation unit has been established to develop and implement this policy alongside the Higher Education Authority, HEA. The Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, and their officials are working closely with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and officials in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the range of measures, including standards for student accommodation. Extensive collaboration and discussions on student accommodation are also ongoing with the wider higher education sector and other key stakeholders.

The immediate priority is to activate projects with planning permission. To date, the Government is supporting 1,071 new beds in the University of Limerick, Dublin City University, Maynooth University and the University of Galway. Department officials are also examining potential additional developments at UCD, Trinity, the University of Galway and UCC under this short-term measure. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, will bring an update on this initiative to the Government by the end of quarter 2 this year.

The Government has also approved funding of €1 million to support the technological universities to assess their accommodation needs. The funding being provided will provide consultancy support to undertake a cohesive and regionally focused feasibility study, as suggested by the Deputy, for each technological university. This study will inform a long-term student accommodation policy and it is intended to bring a methodology on this policy development to the Government before the summer recess.

Department officials met with the technological university sector on 23 February this year to progress the objectives of the feasibility study and to establish the data and engagement needs from the TUs involved in this process. The terms of reference for a TU feasibility study have been finalised between the Department and the HEA, and the appointment of the consultant will be completed in quarter 2 of this year. The study will commence immediately thereafter, with phase 1 of the work focused on establishing a national and regional data picture on supply and demand projections for student accommodation across all publicly funded higher education providers and their environs.

A series of further engagements with the TU sector will be led by the consultants to inform this study. The role of the institutions in collating the data, presenting the specific needs of the sector and its students, and assessing options is imperative to the success of this study and to forging a path for the provision of student accommodation.

The South East Technological University has conducted a feasibility study and submitted it to the Department for consideration. SETU is currently developing a plan for the delivery of approximately 700 beds on each of the campuses in Waterford and Carlow, that is, approximately 1,400 beds in total. SETU is also commencing the process of responding to the requirements of the public spending code in relation to the development of a preliminary business case. The Department, the HEA, and its consultants are committed to working with SETU to progress proposals in line with the TU study.

The short-term student accommodation policy is progressing while the long-term response is developed. The Ministers and their officials are receptive to examining all solutions to assist in solving the student accommodation problem and are ready to work with any or all of the five technological universities to support them to assess student accommodation needs and, subject to the agreement of a borrowing framework, to borrow to build student accommodation.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. That is very welcome information, in particular that a dedicated student accommodation unit has been established to develop and implement the policy along with the Higher Education Authority. I very much welcome that. The bigger issue for me is that the Minister of State outlined there is a need for 700 accommodation units for Carlow and 700 units for Waterford. That is most welcome. I am delighted to see the progress that has been achieved.

However, we need to have more information on this. I was not aware of all the work that was going on. We very much appreciate the work done by the Minister, Deputy Harris. His commitment and dedication to SETU is evident, but we need to give the information and have a plan. While this is really good and welcome, could we meet with the Minister, perhaps get the rest of the information and continue on from there? At least we will know the updates then and I will be able to people this is where we are, we have a plan and this is what is happening. I again thank the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, for their hard work, commitment and dedication to the work that has taken place.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Far be it from me to confirm the diary of the Minister, Deputy Harris, but I am sure he will accede to a request to meet Deputy Murnane O'Connor on this issue. As she is aware, the student accommodation problem is part of the crisis currently being experienced in the overall housing market. The increasing cost of construction and financing are compounding the challenges in supply faced by all the higher education institutes in accommodating their growing student population.

In responding to these challenges, the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, have the support of the Government and they have developed a number of initiatives, which I have just outlined. For technological universities to thrive and to ensure balanced regional development, there is a need to have more student accommodation in the regions. The technological universities are ready for the challenge and this funding will start them on their path.

The Ministers and their officials welcome the SETU initiative in conducting a feasibility study, in particular the development of an accommodation plan to include 700 new beds in Carlow and another 700 in Waterford. The assessment will be progressed with the Department and the HEA in the coming months, in conjunction with the overall TU feasibility process for student accommodation.

The Department is working with the relevant Departments to explore the development of a specific borrowing framework for TUs. The Department will consider the identification and reuse of vacant premises which may be particularly suitable for regional locations. Officials met with the County and City Management Association on 24 May to explore the use of vacant properties as an option for the supply of student accommodation.

The rent-a-room scheme has been expanded to include local authority tenancies, and the income earned from the scheme will not be included in assessing medical card eligibility. Work is ongoing across all relevant Departments to progress the implementation of these and other changes. I am pretty sure if the Deputy looks for a meeting with the Minister, Deputy Harris, or the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, it will happen.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State.