Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to bring Members' attention to the daft.iereport published yesterday. It shows yet again that rents are rising nationally but particularly in areas outside Dublin, in other words the doughnut effect, for the simple reason that it has become too expensive to live in Dublin. I would like there to be two aspects to a debate on this issue, the first of which would be to talk to the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection about how rent supplement benefit is insufficient to enable people to live in the Dublin region. This is a matter that requires urgent debate, as failure to be able to pay rent is driving people into homelessness.

However, the aspect I wish to raise today is a recent report from UCD indicating that it is intended to increase the price of on-campus accommodation by 20% next year. Access to on-campus accommodation and student accommodation is an issue of access to education. While one is talking about rural Ireland in this regard, for many parents who live outside an urban area, the ability to afford accommodation for their children is the deciding factor as to whether that child will ever get the chance of a third-level education. It is horrendous that on-campus providers can raise charges by such an extent. Incidentally, the increase for the same educational institution last year was 16%. The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, should be invited to the House to answer the question as to what type of arrangements these universities and institutes of technology have with on-campus providers. Who sets these rent levels and how can any university stand over an on-campus provider that sets its rental levels based on the average rents charged in Dublin 4?That is definitely an access to education issue. Now is the time to engage in a debate on this matter, not next August or September when students are seeking accommodation. I request that the Leader ask the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, to come before the House in order that we might discuss the policy of the Department of Education and Skills towards on-campus accommodation as a matter of urgency.