Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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685. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which a deficit in student accommodation has been identified within the catchment areas of the various third level institutions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34678/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Government fully appreciates the concerns regarding the availability of accommodation for students and the HEA 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 and I have introduced two immediate actions to begin this work. Firstly, 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.

Secondly, the establishment of an inter-departmental steering group to oversee this work, the first meeting of which took place on 1 October 2015. 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. A significant number of Action points have been identified for follow up arising from the first meeting.

The full report can be accessed at

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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686. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which a dearth of student accommodation has been identified in the vicinity of the National University of Ireland Maynooth in County Kildare; her plans to address this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34679/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Government fully appreciates the concerns regarding the availability of accommodation for students and the HEA 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 and I have introduced two immediate actions to begin this work. Firstly, 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.

Secondly, the establishment of an inter-departmental steering group to oversee this work, the first meeting of which took place on 1 October 2015. 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. A significant number of Action points have been identified for follow up arising from the first meeting.

The full report can be accessed at

In relation to student accommodation for Maynooth University, I understand that additional student accommodation is currently under construction and will provide an additional 300 bed spaces when completed. It is anticipated that these units will be available from the commencement of the next academic year in September 2016.