Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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1819. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he is taking to increase the provision of student accommodation for students with disabilities in County Cork-third-level educational institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17262/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am actively working to address the supply of student accommodation. Increasing costs of construction and financing are impacting on viability, and as a result a number of Universities had to pause their projects. In responding to these challenges, on 29 November 2022, Government approved development of both short and medium term policy responses to activate supply.

These landmark policy responses will see the State providing financial support for the construction of student accommodation, and underpin the policy commitments set out in Housing for All.

In the short term, Government has approved funding to support development of 1,065 beds for students of the University of Limerick, Dublin City University, Maynooth University and the University of Galway which have planning permission granted or at an imminent stage, but are stalled.

These projects will see a percentage of the beds being offered at discounted rates, the support will be targeted at providing accommodation to defined target group students by providing them with accommodation at affordable below market rates.

My officials are also examining potential developments at University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin, and University College Cork also has proposals in development.

These proposals are in addition to the 1,806 student accommodation beds delivered in the last year, with a further 929 beds due to open in Cork and Galway before the start of the next academic year. There are also 2,057 additional beds currently under construction, of which 981 are on site in Cork.

Support of €1m is also being provided to our Technological Universities (TUs) to conduct a needs assessment and my Department is examining the development of a TU Borrowing Framework in conjunction with other Government Departments, as part of the range of student accommodation initiatives underway.

As set out in the guidelines on Residential Developments for 3rd Level Students, developments should design a minimum of one out of every fifty, or part thereof, of the total number of bedspaces for students with disabilities. These rooms shall be fully wheelchair accessible complete with ensuite bathroom facilities. These guidelines can be found here www.gov.ie/en/publication/12f64e-guidelines-on-residential-developments-for-3rd-level-students/.

The Building Regulations (Part M Amendment) Regulations (2022) and the accompanying Technical Guidance Document M – Access and Use (2022), set out the minimum statutory requirements that a building must achieve in respect of access and use by disabled persons. Part M of the regulations applies to public buildings and the common areas of apartment blocks.

Part M aims to foster an inclusive approach to the design and construction of the built environment. While the Part M requirements may be regarded as a statutory minimum level of provision, the accompanying technical guidance encourages building owners and designers to have regard to the design philosophy of universal design and to consider making additional provisions where practicable and appropriate. The TGDs are available at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/78e67-technical-guidance-document-m-access-and-use/. The design of purpose built student accommodation shall take these requirements and guidance into account.

Since 2011, housing for disabled people has been addressed in a dedicated joint Strategy between the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and the Department of Health. A new National Housing Strategy for Disabled People (NHSDP) 2022-2027 was launched in January 2022. The vision of the strategy is to facilitate disabled people to live independently with the appropriate choices and control over where, how and with whom they live, promoting their inclusion in the community. The strategy is available to read at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/60d76-national-housing-strategy-for-disabled-people-2022-2027/.

My Department is engaged in the ongoing development of new longer term student accommodation policy responses including through standardised design specification templates and costing models to be developed in consultation with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This will also be informed by ongoing analysis across Europe and internationally for best practice for the delivery and management of student accommodation.

In addition to the above, the fourth National Access Plan for Higher Education 2022-2028 was launched in August 2022 and sets out our ambition for an inclusive, diverse higher education sector over the 7 year period. The Plan sets a high level of ambition for the higher education system in supporting access, participation and success among students who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, students with disabilities and students from the Irish Traveller & Roma communities. Our ambition is to ensure that we provide supports and opportunities for learning to all. This means recognising the needs of persons on low income and those with special and additional needs.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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1820. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he is taking to ensure further education and training colleges have student accommodation facilities, especially for students with disabilities. [17263/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am actively working to address the supply of student accommodation. Increasing costs of construction and financing are impacting on viability, and as a result a number of student accommodation projects had to be paused. In responding to these challenges, on 29 November 2022, Government approved development of both short and medium term policy responses to activate supply.

These landmark policy responses will see the State providing financial support for the construction of student accommodation, and underpin the policy commitments set out in Housing for All.

In the short term, Government has approved funding to support development of 1,065 beds for students of the University of Limerick, Dublin City University, Maynooth University and the University of Galway which have planning permission granted or at an imminent stage, but are stalled.

My officials are also examining potential developments at UCD and TCD, and UCC also has proposals in development.

These proposals are in addition to the 1,806 student accommodation beds delivered in the last year, with a further 929 beds due to open in Cork and Galway before the start of the next academic year. There are also 2,057 additional beds currently under construction through private developments.

In addition to stimulating purpose built student accommodation my Department is encouraging the bringing on stream of additional units through minor capital grants, promotion of digs accommodation and utilisation of the rent a room scheme.

The recent extension to the rent a room scheme means that income generated is disregarded for social welfare and student grant assessment purposes. Approval was also given to disregard this income for medical card assessment purposes and also to allow Local Authority tenants to access the scheme.

There is currently no public purpose built student accommodation for students attending further education and training colleges. These colleges are operated by the 16 Education and Training Boards across the country and offer opportunities for students to pursue further education and training in their locality. Students who are eligible for FET training allowances can claim a travel allowance if they live 3 miles or more from the course centre.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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1821. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he is taking to introduce a National Student Accommodation Policy and Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17358/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am actively working to address the supply of student accommodation. Increasing costs of construction and financing are impacting on viability, and as a result a number of Universities had to pause their projects. In responding to these challenges, on 29 November 2022, Government approved development of both short and medium term policy responses to activate supply.

These landmark policy responses will see the State providing financial support for the construction of student accommodation, and underpin the policy commitments set out in Housing for All and the National Access Plan.

In the short term, Government has approved funding to support development of 1,065 beds for students of the University of Limerick, Dublin City University, Maynooth University and the University of Galway which have planning permission granted or at an imminent stage, but are stalled.

My Department and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) are actively working through the financial and governance due diligence process for these projects and have contracted Mazars to undertake a feasibility study on these projects, in line with the Public Spending Code.

In addition, the Department is working with the Office of the Attorney General to address EU State Aid requirements.

My officials are also examining potential developments at UCD and TCD, and UCC also has proposals in development.

These proposals are in addition to the 1,806 student accommodation beds delivered in the last year, with a further 929 beds due to open in Cork and Galway before the start of the next academic year. There are also 2,057 additional beds currently under construction through private developments.

In parallel, longer term policy development is being advanced to examine a broader range of methods to increase supply of student accommodation. Support of €1m is also being provided to our Technological Universities (TUs) to conduct a needs assessment and my Department is examining the development of a TU Borrowing Framework in conjunction with other Government Departments, as part of the range of student accommodation initiatives underway.

In addition to stimulating purpose built student accommodation by higher education institutions my Department is encouraging the bringing on stream of additional units through minor capital grants, promotion of digs accommodation and utilisation of the rent a room scheme.

The recent extension to the rent a room scheme means that income generated is disregarded for social welfare and student grant assessment purposes. Approval was also given to disregard this income for medical card assessment purposes and also to allow Local Authority tenants to access the scheme.

My officials and I are continuing to work alongside our Government colleagues to examine these range of measures to assist students with accommodation.

The existing National Student Accommodation which was published under ReBuilding Ireland was introduced in 2017 and runs to 2024. The development of policy responses on State supported student accommodation will inform the next iteration of the National Student Accommodation Strategy.