Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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252. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his proposals to ensure adequate provision of accommodation for students. [29146/26]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The National Student Accommodation Strategy 2026-2035 was published last month. The Strategy, which is available on the government’s website, sets out a pathway to make higher education more accessible by addressing two critical challenges, accommodation supply and viability and accommodation affordability.

Since 2017, 16,266 PBSA beds have been completed nationwide, bringing total stock to over 49,200. As of the end of March 2026, commencement notices have issued for 2,735 student beds and 14,233 student beds have planning permission.

Current projections indicate an emerging demand for approximately 42,000 additional student accommodation beds over the next decade, underscoring the scale of the challenge and opportunity.

To address supply and viability the strategy sets out a balanced approach including: -

• A commitment to long term State-backed measures to activate supply, working in partnership with the private sector.
• Support for the development of accommodation on public campuses as well as on private sites near to campus, subject to State Aid clearance.
• The development of a framework, in line with relevant Departmental consents, to support universities to develop nomination agreements with the private sector.
• The expansion of the Technological Sector Student Accommodation Programme to include traditional universities enabling the sector as a whole to meet demand; and
• The enhanced supply of student beds through promotion of Rent-a-Room accommodation.