Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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1222. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will expand the provision of student accommodation to make accommodation affordable for students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30932/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The report, Student Accommodation: Demand & Supply, which I published recently sets out clearly that the demand for student accommodation outstrips supply in certain areas and will continue to do so in the coming years.

There are 13 useful recommendations in this report some of which include capital financing, tax considerations and planning issues, as well as support for the rent-a-room scheme. I have introduced two immediate actions to begin this work. Firstly, the immediate establishment of an inter-departmental steering group to oversee this work. This group will provide a coordinating mechanism to ensure that the higher education institutions have access to information on new potential funding and delivery models.

And secondly, the awarding of a grant of €30,000, which will be provided by the HEA to the Union of Students' (USI) in Ireland to progress short-term solutions for students in need of accommodation. This funding will allow USI to develop their homes.usi.iewebsite, to communicate more effectively to student and homeowners, and to carry out research into this important issue. The Government is committed to addressing the housing shortage through the Construction 2020 strategy. This will not resolve all of our problems immediately, but I am confident that the implementation of Construction 2020 will provide us with a sustainable housing stock in the medium to longer term. The full report can be accessed at