Student Accommodation

163. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide an update on the expression of interest process for the provision of purpose built student accommodation. [72276/26]

Student accommodation has been discussed extensively already but I ask specifically for an update on the expression of interest process for purpose-built student accommodation.

I launched the student accommodation strategy in March of this year. It sets out a long-term framework to increase accommodation supply, improve affordability and support sustainable delivery of student accommodation nationwide. The strategy was approved by the Government in March and now the focus is on implementation. Part of the strategy is the higher education student accommodation programme, HSAP. That is being advanced with the Higher Education Authority and the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA. Phase 1A went live on Monday. That means we have identified four sites. We are starting with Dublin, Cork and Galway, as the three largest university cities. We have an expression of interest process. We have worked with the colleges in those three cities, starting with the technological universities. We have sites in Grangegorman, north Dublin; IADT in Dún Laoghaire; ATU Galway - I think it is at the Galwegians pitch; and MTU Cork. Those four sites have been identified through working with the colleges as being good to go. The colleges have put those forward and we are taking expressions of interest at this very minute. More generally, we have appealed for landowners, public or private, with lands in the vicinity of the colleges. If they want to come forward with a site they suggest is suitable for student accommodation, we are more than willing to hear from them. The next phase, following swiftly on, will be the traditional universities - UoG, Trinity, UCD, DCU, UCC and so on - around Dublin, Cork and Galway. We will move to that 1B phase in a few weeks' time and will continue to roll that out across different locations. That is a tangible gesture of intent. I expect from the four sites I mentioned we can realise up to 3,300 beds. If other private sites come onto the radar through the expression of interest process, we could have many thousands more.

The Minister is right. It shows intent that the strategy was launched earlier this year and we already have four locations in three urban centres, as the strategy is set out, and we are seeking expression of interests. I particularly welcome the expression of interest for ATU. The Minister is right that it is the Galwegians site adjacent to the college. It could not be any more proximate, which is very welcome. It is very reassuring for parents of students travelling to an urban area that they get accommodation in close proximity to the college. We are asking the third level institutions to look at their own land banks first to see where they can facilitate the provision of purpose-built student accommodation. In that process, are we looking at nomination agreements, licensed sites and Government support for site servicing? In the urban areas, there will not be a massive need for additional site servicing but will the Minister give some more information on how the State is supporting the process?

There is a number of factors. The four on-campus sites I mentioned are subject to the expression of interest process. We have invited parties to the table to see what they are willing to do. We will engage with them on the detail. I expect in the on-campus locations a nomination agreement is likely. The college will then engage with a developer to build the accommodation, lease it at scale and make it available to students. On privately owned sites in the vicinity of a college, the developer may operate it or may enter into an agreement with the university to lease it in the same way. There are more options around those sites, to an extent. Site servicing is on a case-by-case basis. Some sites may require capital works to have them ready; others may be better structured to go. There may be more viability around some sites than others. Where a site requires assistance, we are prepared to give that.

That is really welcome. A lot of Deputies have mentioned that at the recent meeting of the higher education committee at which the institutions were present, the issue of viability was prevalent and widely discussed. It is very welcome to hear from the last part of the Minister's answer about the State's willingness to engage with the institutions on costs that might be encountered in enabling this development. On the nomination agreement, the Minister mentioned that there is engagement not just with the institutions but we are welcoming of people who are coming forward to express an interest in development here. Is the Minister confident that we can overcome the viability challenge? That is the fundamental question. In noting that question and the Minister's response already that the State is ready to assist in the servicing of sites, it would be helpful to us all to know about the Minister or the Department’s insight in terms of the viability issue.

We absolutely needed to have a strong intervention, and that is what I done with this strategy. I hope and expect that it will bear fruit and come good. The Deputy is right about that viability challenge because there are 16,000 beds already out there with planning permission but have not commenced construction. That speaks to the viability. If somebody goes to the effort of identifying a site and getting planning permission but then does not proceed to build, we have to ask why. I asked why last year when I came into this role. That is one of the reasons I have launched the strategy subsequently. The strategy has a toolkit to address that viability issue. The viability issue arises for a number of reasons coming out of Covid. The entire construction industry had to be ground to halt during Covid. When it restarted, we had the war in Ukraine and we have had other wars since. We all know the cost of materials, building, labour, etc., have all significantly increased since. There was a viability issue. Regarding the likes of the nomination agreements, sites servicing, the sites being identified, the on- or off-campus options, the support from the NDFA and others that are part of this tapestry, I hope they provide a real viability injection that will get this moving and drive it on.