Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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558. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there are special allocations or preferences given to persons with specific or special needs such as autism in the application for on-campus student accommodation in University of Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23921/20]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Under the Universities Act 1997, universities are autonomous with regard to their administrative and academic affairs. This includes in relation to their on-campus student accommodation.

While UL does have student accommodation available for student with special needs, the eligibility criteria for this accommodation and how it is allocated are a matter for the university itself. UL authorities are in the best position to provide further information on this.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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559. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the public health advice and justification for students living on campus to not be allowed visitors in their residence for the duration of the 2020-21 academic year; his views on whether it is fair to expect students to pay the full amount for accommodation in view of the fact they are being asked to live under such restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24013/20]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The advice the Deputy refers to regarding visitor and student accommodation is from the "Implementation Guidelines for Public Health Measures in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)" published on August 5th. This document was produced by public health exerts within the HEI sector and the recommendations in it were endorsed by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre of the HSE.

The guidelines on student accommodation, including those in relation to visitors, are designed to reduce the risk of spread in student accommodation given the fact that it's a relatively dense-congregated setting with common areas shared between a number of students. The aim is to reduce to the pathways for the virus to enter a student accommodation setting, and help protect all those sharing the accommodation.

Student accommodation license terms including cost, duration, refund and cancellation policies should be set out in the license agreement signed at the beginning of the academic year. While I would hope that accommodation providers would show flexibility to students in the current times, agreements between students and accommodation providers are a private matter, and neither I nor my Department have any remit to issue instructions in relation to the rental market.