Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

I spoke about student accommodation on Second Stage because I am extremely concerned about it. The question goes beyond the involvement of local authorities in this issue because there is a big responsibility on third level colleges to provide more campus accommodation. NUI Galway has a land bank of 100 acres, for example — a fact that was mentioned when we met with the college authorities. In fairness to the university, a year ago it obtained permission from Galway City Council to provide more campus accommodation but there was an appeal to An Bord Pleanála and planning permission was turned down. That is an example of the practical problems that can arise in the provision of student accommodation.

The Minister of State is right to refer to the tax incentives, which have provided a good number of new accommodation units. Those I have seen in Galway are very good, and I am sure the same is true of those in Dublin, Maynooth and elsewhere.

I would question the charging of deposits for such accommodation, given that the rent can be quite high. We should maintain contact with the universities and other third level institutions in an effort to provide more campus accommodation. This would provide greater security for students who, in addition, will be living near their college. I hope the authorities at NUI Galway will revert to the planning authority to try to get last year's proposal through and, thus, provide more accommodation.

The Bill places obligations on landlords but, bearing in mind that some universities are also landlords, we should include them. This is a serious issue and parents of students know the difficulties involved in securing accommodation each September or October. There should be a better way of doing this than obliging people to grab the local newspaper and then tear around Galway to answer all the advertisements for student accommodation. If the universities were to take a greater role and accept more responsibility for this issue, we would have a better system. I urge the Minister of State to keep in contact with the third level institutions and secure more campus accommodation in order that people do not have to make a mad scramble around the relevant cities looking for accommodation.