Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 14:

In page 6, after line 41, to insert the following: (6) With respect to information provided under subsection (3)(a) with regard to student accommodation, the Minister shall provide for consultation with educational institutions, representative student bodies and local residents set out conditions in respect of student accommodation, which the planning authority must have due regard to in rendering an opinion under section 32D.”.

Amendments Nos. 14 and 19 come back to the issue of student accommodation. The Minister will be aware of the significant concerns in relation to student accommodation.

Amendment No. 14 inserts a new subsection into the proposed section 32B, to stipulate that the Minister would "provide for consultation with educational institutions, [with] representative student bodies and [with] local residents [in setting] out conditions in respect of student accommodation". Student accommodation is one of the controversial elements of large-scale residential developments because of the way it has been approached, the dilution of standards, the extortionate prices in many cases attached to student accommodation and because of the fear, justified in many cases, of a slippage into other usages of student accommodation. It becomes a dormitory-style working environment, which we do not want to become the norm for how people live their lies.

Amendment No. 14 would insert a new subsection to provide that the Minister would consult with the specified groups. The Minister mentioned earlier the question of those looking for developments. They want to be able to let them during holiday periods and that is what makes it an attractive investment for them. As much as consulting with potential developers or investors, the amendment provides for consultation with the crucial stakeholders who are local residents, educational institutions and representative student bodies representing the students who will potentially live in the accommodation. It further provides that the planning authority would have due regard to that consultation and its outcomes when it renders an opinion under section 32D.The way I have tried to phrase the amendment is so that it relates to different local authorities, because I am conscious that it is a different situation for different planning authorities. I recognise it is not the same situation in every part of the country.

Amendment No. 14 is almost part of the pre-application process, if the Minister knows what I mean. Amendment No. 19 is a little bit more after the fact. It provides that where student accommodation has received large-scale residential development planning permission, the local authority in which the proposed development is located shall, in consultation with educational institutions, representative student bodies, student unions and local residents, set out conditions in respect of student accommodation, which the planning authority must be consistent with in the rendering of its decision.

Accommodation for students in one part of the country is different from other parts but there are parts of the country where, for example, a provision that allowed holiday letting would place students in an extremely detrimental situation if they are in a key area where it is not possible to get alternative accommodation. There are parts of the country as well where local educational institutions will have a sense of the demographic needs of students including, for example, needs in relation to disability and family type, that is, the kind of needs their students have. It is very important that these key stakeholders are part of how student accommodation is planned given that, as the Minister is aware, it is one of the most controversial and frustrating elements in planning to date. This is a chance to get it right earlier by having the right input at the right stages. I hope the Minister is in an position to accept either amendment No. 14 or amendment No. 19, or possibly both.