Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for bringing this legislation to the Seanad. I do not know who needs to know this but it is totally unacceptable that students would be asked to pay for accommodation they are not occupying. Students paying for accommodation they are not availing of is beyond perverse. We encourage students of all ages to invest in themselves, their education and in being greater participants in and contributors to society. One of the biggest costs involved study, after tuition, subsistence and travel, is accommodation. That any provider of accommodation would attempt to extort unfairly from students or those supporting them financially a payment for accommodation they are not using is totally unacceptable. For this reason, I really welcome the initiative from the Government and the Department to make this practice no longer permissible under law.

I hope the Bill will have unanimous support in this House. I would be surprised if it does not. It builds on the other initiatives this Government has taken to help and protect students who require accommodation to complete their studies. It builds on the changes the Government made in 2021 to restrict the payments that can be demanded by accommodation providers from students to a maximum of two months in advance. It builds on the change made to the legislation to require students to give no more than 28 days notice when ending a lease. It also gives extra protections and supports to students who require rental accommodation to complete their studies by giving them access to the Residential Tenancies Board.

As everybody engaged in discussions about housing and renting will know, the RTB has certainly had its challenges. It is something the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage has taken up. Only this week, representatives of the RTB attended a meeting of the committee at which we reviewed the progress the board is making to increase its efficiency and effectiveness as a regulator, let us say, and enforcer of standards in the residential tenancies sector. We need to support the RTB because we need a good, effective and efficient regulator so that renters, landlords and those providing rental accommodation are supported to behave and operate to the highest standards.

It is important that we have a stable and secure rental sector as well as private and social home ownership. Access to a secure home that is adequate to people's needs is a basic human requirement. It is essential for each and every one of us to be able to go to school, work, college or university, as we are discussing in this case, contribute to our society and country and reach our full potential. I support the legislation and thank the Minister of State for bringing it to the House. I look forward to it passing today.