Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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In August 2023 I agreed a protocol with Minister Harris setting out the position under which we could continue to meet our obligations in terms of accommodation for those seeking protection while also protecting the supply of accommodation available for students. The protocol set out that my Department would not contract Purpose Built Student Accommodation properties currently in operation or those which had been operating as student accommodation within the previous 12 months.

No further student-related accommodation has been procured by my Department, other than by agreement with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and any commercial offers we receive that have the potential to affect student accommodation provision are raised with D/FHERIS before proceeding further.

In my view the protocol has worked extremely well, protecting scarce student accommodation, facilitating strong lines of consultation and information-sharing between the two Departments, as well providing certainty for operators in the market.

The protocol remains under active review by both Departments and adjustments will be made as required.

My Department does not track if they are purpose built student accommodation or student specific accommodation and the RTB Student Specific Accommodation Register for 2023 does not confirm the student accommodation type (Purpose-built student accommodation or Student Specific Accommodation)

My Department does not publicly detail the locations of such accommodation centres in the interest of the privacy and security of residents and providers. For the same reason, my Department also does not publicly detail the occupancy, contracted capacity and location of each centre.

The breakdown of the number student accommodation and the capacity by county is set out in the table below.