Student Accommodation

158. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he is concerned that some students are paying up to €16,000 per year for accommodation while the delivery of purpose-built student accommodation has fallen to a reported 20-year low, with only 657 beds delivered in 2025 and 419 expected in 2026; whether he has assessed the value-for-money implications of proposals announced as part of budget 2027 whereby private developers will build student accommodation that is then leased back to third-level institutions; and the measures he will take to increase the supply of affordable student accommodation to reduce costs for students and families. [71949/26]

Is the Minister concerned that some students are paying up to €16,000 per year for purpose-built student accommodation, sometimes up to €400 per week even, while the delivery of purpose-built student accommodation has fallen to a reported 20-year low, with only 657 beds delivered in 2025 and 419 expected in 2026, which is a very small number? Has he assessed the value-for-money implications of the proposals announced in the budget whereby private developers will build student accommodation that is then leased back to third-level institutions? It is bad economics.

Tráthnóna maith to the Cathaoirleach and the Teachtaí. I am going to deal with the Deputy's question in two aspects. I will talk about affordability and then I will deal with viability because both are critical in the delivery of student accommodation. I am very mindful of the challenges faced by students in that respect. Viability goes to supply and incentivising supply and affordability is whether students can afford it, which is also a critical factor. The Deputy cited a figure of €16,000 per year. I invite him to send me details of the correspondence he got those figures from, though I am not doubting that some students may be paying up to that amount. The Higher Education Authority, HEA, survey cited an average rental cost of €700 per month for a student. That is obviously well below the figure the Deputy cited. That is an average and there will be some below it and some above, but if the Deputy sends me that correspondence I will be happy to have a look at it. It is important to note that the HEA survey found that the average rent for a student is €700 per month. In the recent budget I was very pleased to be able to deliver a number of additional, tangible supports to reduce the cost of college for students and their families. This included a €34 million student-support package which builds on the package I introduced last year and packages previous Ministers introduced before that. It includes things like a reduction in the student contribution fee of €150, meaning €600 was permanently taken off that fee between the past two budgets, and all SUSI grants going to people in disadvantaged circumstances increasing by 4.5% across the board. Those grants are critical. That is coming in in January; we are not even waiting for the new academic year but putting it into effect immediately. There is also a new student contribution grant for families who are above the traditional SUSI threshold but have two or more children in college at one time and are finding that a struggle even though they are on what might be considered higher incomes. This means that families on a household income of up to €150,000 now qualify for significant support in terms of student fees being heavily discounted where there are two or more children attending college. I will come back to the viability issue in the next round.

It is very bad value for money when it is done through private developers. I have a localised question regarding my area. In terms of the South East Technological University, SETU, Wexford, how many student accommodation beds will be provided? If there is no student accommodation plan there, what assessment has been carried out on the impact this would have on Wexford town in terms of local house prices and rental prices? Waterford has a figure of 426 student places. If that engagement has not been done, why not? Have there been any discussions on providing accommodation for SETU Wexford, which we are all waiting for? Has the Minister thought about earmarking a budget for that? It is crucial that we have dedicated, purpose-built student accommodation in Wexford town. Otherwise we are creating the housing crisis of tomorrow with the policies of today.

To go back to the question about value for money, in order to assess whether something is good value for money or not we need to know the cost and benefits. Neither are known, so I do not know how the Deputy can say it is bad value for money. He does not know what the value of the proposition is. As he said, a lot of private money is being spent as part of this. The State is not actually spending the money and, therefore, the value for money consideration in terms of public moneys does not arise in some cases where the private sector is coming in as part of it. Undoubtedly, however, there is and has been a viability problem. The construction of student accommodation almost fell off a cliff during Covid. It ground to a halt for multiple reasons. Covid was a big factor. In terms of viability, there is the costs of construction since, the inflation in the costs of building materials and labour and all of the factors that have made all types of development challenging. Student accommodation is accommodation at scale and we are building 300-, 500- and 600-bed apartment blocks. It is very expensive. That is why I have intervened significantly with the new student accommodation strategy, launched in March. Only this week I brought to Cabinet a proposal for 3,300 new beds to be put into the system as part of that strategy. That is the first phase but we will roll out multiple further phases in the weeks and months ahead.

The figure of €400 per week that was mentioned earlier was brought up as part of the student accommodation strategy at the higher education committee. I ask the Minister to check it out. To go back to the point about the southeast, many students from north Wexford, where the Minister and I are from, and south Wicklow, are very interested in attending college in Wexford. I find it ironic that Georgia Southern University in the United States is providing accommodation for its students in the Adoration Convent in Wexford town. It is absolutely fantastic that it is happening but it is ironic that a US university is providing for its students but we are not providing for local students from counties Wicklow, Wexford and Waterford in that area. That is a bit of a contradiction. Does the Minister not think the same?

I am confused as to why the Deputy would say that because SETU, the local university he referred to, has multiple plans for student accommodation. I will set out what is proposed as it is important we are all on the same page. I am happy to do a briefing for the committee. I have been before it already and I am sure I will be in again soon. The strategy is starting in Dublin, Cork, and Galway as the three biggest university cities. On Tuesday of this week I announced 3,300 beds being activated through that on sites like Grangegorman in north Dublin, IADT in Dún Laoghaire, Atlantic Technological University, ATU. in Galway and Munster Technological University, MTU, in Cork to name a few. Multiple other sites are being put out for expressions of interest as well. We will then move to the next range of cities, which will be Waterford - obviously SETU has a presence there - Limerick and Athlone. We will then move to the next round, which will be other locations, working with the technological universities and traditional universities. We have already engaged with them in a significant sense. I have met with SETU representatives multiple times on the Wexford, Waterford, and Carlow campuses and many other sites. We absolutely work with SETU and I am very keen to make sure that continues. As regards Georgia Southern University, in a way that is the strategy working. If a private provider wants to come and provide student accommodation, it helps the overall situation. The more supply we get, the better.