2025-12-11

203. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the steps he is taking to address concerns relating to student accommodation and affordability; if he is aware that these concerns are driving regional disparities and increasing commuting burdens and costs for rural students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67669/25]

My question relates to the ongoing shortage of student accommodation across the country. Every year, the problem gets worse. In my constituency, I am contacted by huge numbers of students who cannot source accommodation in Galway, Dublin or Limerick. Unfortunately, the evidence available to us each September demonstrates that the situation is deteriorating rather than improving. What measures will be taken by the Government to tackle this problem?

I thank the Deputy. I am very aware of the high cost of student accommodation and the burden it places on students, especially those from rural or outlying areas, although it is not limited to them. In my own household, which is in an urban area, my daughter has commuted to UCD for the past couple of years and it was not a short commute, despite the fact we are not terribly far away from the college geographically. There is an additional financial burden on students who have to make that commute or cannot secure accommodation. The student accommodation strategy 2025-2035 will set out Ireland's national policy to support access to appropriate housing and accommodation for students. Through the strategy, I am committed to expanding supports that directly address affordability pressures on students, especially for those who need it most. In budget 2026, for example, I secured an additional €10.5 million to increase all non-adjacent maintenance grants under the student grant scheme by at least €200 - in most cases by more. That means all grants for people who are non-adjacent, which means they live 30 km or more from the college, have increased, and in some cases significantly. That is to reflect the fact that those students have an additional financial burden because they are travelling or having to pay for rent or accommodation. Some 30,000 students can avail of that. The 30 km figure is down from 45 km, so that support is available to more students than ever before. My Department also provides measures such as the 1916 bursary and the student assistance fund to students with particular socioeconomic difficulties. I was pleased to announce today that I was increasing the student assistance fund again for the coming year by over €10.2 million. It is a discretionary fund available through the welfare officers in the colleges to support students with a range of additional costs and expenses. That will now stand at €19.3 million for this academic year, which is a record high. In fact, it even exceeds the amount awarded only last year. I am committed to continuing those supports, targeting supports at people who need them most, and making sure the cost of college is mitigated as far as it can be by support from the Department.

I thank the Minister for his response. While I certainly acknowledge that there have been some incentives, supports and improvements, the SUSI grant has unfortunately not been adjusted in line with the cost of living or the costs of student accommodation. We have seen over the past five years how rents in urban centres and many regional towns have risen at rates far exceeding inflation or wage growth. In regard to the strategy, the delivery of purpose-built student accommodation has fallen substantially short of what is actually required, with only approximately 14,000 of the 21,000 beds targeted under the national student accommodation strategy having materialised by 2024. As a direct consequence, thousands of students now rely on temporary and often unsuitable arrangements such as staying in family homes, commuting long distances as the Minister acknowledged, or depending on the good will of relatives and friends. We really need to tackle this issue and be more ambitious in creating more student accommodation.

I wish to confirm and restate that the maintenance grants have increased significantly in some cases, particularly those on the non-adjacent rungs of the grant system. That is something that is very important to me and that I was very determined to be able to do. As well as that, there is additional support for students with disabilities and mental health challenges. The thresholds have increased to the highest ever level, to the extent that 80% of households are now eligible for at least some form of grant support. Of course, the student fee itself has been permanently discounted by €500 from the base figure I inherited at the start of this year. These are all positive steps. The technological sector student accommodation programme is a particular accommodation package within the technological universities. Feasibility studies were performed over the past two years and the technological universities were invited to submit proposals, which they have done. The preliminary business cases will be examined in the new year to consider those projects and where they go next. I will come back in the next round.

I acknowledge that there have been some improvements but again, it is just not enough. We need to be, as I said, far more ambitious and deliver more student accommodation. I want to point out that my concerns relate to the fact that when a young person from a rural background concludes that third level education is financially or logistically unfeasible, the loss extends far beyond the individual. Society is deprived of the nurses, engineers, teachers and researchers that we so badly need in Ireland. Therefore, I ask the Minister to address the following specific points in his response to me. What immediate supports or emergency measures is the Department implementing in this academic year for students who are currently sofa surfing or living in unaffordable private rentals? Will the Government now give serious consideration to the introduction of rent controls or caps specifically for purpose-built accommodation? Is the Minister prepared to commit to a ring-fenced, State-led programme of student bed construction? Will he bring forward, as a matter of urgency, an inflation-adjusted increase in the SUSI maintenance grant and a substantial reform and expansion of the rent a room relief scheme?

I am glad the Deputy mentioned the rent a room scheme because that is an important tax relief that is available. Householders can earn up to €14,000 per year tax free by renting rooms to students. It has also been extended to local authority tenants, and at the end of last month, over 5,200 rent a room student beds were on offer in higher education institutions across the country, so that is a very significant measure. In regard to the stock that is on hand, the Deputy mentioned the level of delivery in her opening question. One issue that is of concern to me is that there are almost 15,000 student beds that have planning permission but have not actually moved to construction. We need to look at the reasons that might be the case. A lot of that comes from viability. I refer to things like the VAT reduction on new apartment building. We will look at the procurement supports that are there and measures we can use to stimulate. Where appropriate, there is funding in the system to make serviced sites available where colleges have sites. They can be encouraged to put them to use for student accommodation to try to get some of those 15,000 beds, and a lot more, unlocked and progressed.