Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will not keep the House because it is important we finish the Bill. I thank the Government for bringing forward the Bill as quickly as it has done. I hope it will be passed by the end of this term. I live in an area with a lot of student-specific accommodation. It was not built to serve a particular need for students in the area but the developers were able to build it at a much higher density with lower standards than the apartments needed in the area for housing. They took advantage of the loophole for student-specific accommodation and the different application of standards. The accommodation should always have been on the basis that it was for term time but, seeking to maximise its value, the providers tried to turn it into tourist-specific accommodation over the summer months. I also have a problem with this, understanding that it can make sense for some of them. The providers are exploiting students to rent it out for the full 52 weeks of the year.

The Bill is very welcome and I thank the Government for acting on the issue. We have learned in recent years that purpose-built student accommodation providers need to have a very close eye kept on them when it comes to the standards of the building, how they operate and how they treat students. They change the rules to suit themselves depending on what time of the year it is . I very much welcome the Bill and I thank the Minister of State for bringing it through the House as quickly as possible.