Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The leaving certificate class of 2020 and their families are eagerly awaiting the results of their examinations. Many of them hope to attend universities and colleges in this city and other cities throughout the country. This third level academic year will be like no other that has gone before it. I heard the heads of some universities recently state a university hall that would normally accommodate 250 people will now be able to accommodate only 50. Some students may be lucky to attend college two days a week with the lectures on the remaining three days a week being delivered online. With this in mind, I wonder whether there is a need for families and students living in rural Ireland to rent accommodation in cities such as Dublin and elsewhere. Every year, they make the annual pilgrimage to this city to walk the streets trying to find a property. They also have the burden of trying to afford to pay the rents being asked. I call on the Minister, Deputy Harris, to call on the university heads to publish their calendar for the academic year ahead. If it is the case that students may only be required to be in college two days a week is there any need for families to find properties in cities such as Dublin? Can we imagine the savings that would be accumulated by those families who, in some cases, have to find €1,000 per month for their sons and daughters to attend university or college in this city or elsewhere? It is a huge burden. This burden could be alleviated and that money could be spent in the towns and villages where they are from. I would very much like the Leader to take this on board and ask the Minister, Deputy Harris, whether this timetable can be published to enable children and their families to make a call on whether there is a need to rent accommodation.