Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

It has again fallen on the Labour Party to ensure the presence of women in Cabinet. I welcome the appointment of Deputy Ann Phelan to her Minister of State role. I note that five reports into the deaths of children who were in the care of the State will be published by the Child and Family Agency later today. The reports relate to children who died either while they were in care or were known to the State. I ask the Leader to organise a debate on that in early course following the publication of the reports.

I note that the chairperson of the mother and baby home investigation is to be named today. However, the commission of investigation's terms of reference and its membership are not ready for publication. This must happen in early course. I hope it is not suffering from the fact that we have had three Ministers in the portfolio within a very short space of time. It is a priority that must be addressed.

I remind Members that I am hosting an initiative today in the AV room. It is a question-and-answer session on the homeless prevention services in the Dublin region. It is not just a matter for the Dublin region, but one for the entire country. It is a service that must be rolled out nationally. Since the service was established on 16 June 2014, 1,252 calls have been received, and 449 families identified as at risk of becoming homeless. The statistics are shocking and demonstrate the need for initiatives like this one. It must be rolled out to the country as a whole as this is not just a Dublin problem.

I ask the Leader to organise a debate with the new Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, in early course. Very recently, UCD received 10,000 e-mails within three minutes in respect of applications for its on-campus accommodation. There is a serious shortage of accommodation in the Dublin region in particular, but elsewhere also. We have 80,000 full-time students in Dublin and there is a major problem of access to accommodation for them and of the level of rents they are being charged. I note a recent report to the effect that college rentals are to rise by up to 13%, which is entirely unacceptable.

The spokesperson for UCD stated the university had commissioned an estate agent to provide a report on current private rental markets within easy access of the campus to ensure the licence fees were not out of kilter with those charged in the private rental sector. That is outrageous. What relevance does the wider private rental sector have to the provision of on-campus accommodation? The property and land in question was provided by the State. The units were built using public private partnerships and the State had to forgo tax to build them. It is outrageous to suggest the same sum should be charged for on-campus accommodation as is being charged in the wider private rental sector. Education is a right, not a privilege. For those who are not from urban areas and must attend educational institutions, the charges being levied by universities for on-campus accommodation are entirely unacceptable. I ask that the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, be invited to come to the House to debate the availability of accommodation for students generally and ensure measures are put in place to ensure fairer charges are levied for on-campus accommodation.