Student Accommodation
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-29
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Donna McGettigan (SF), Clare

On 6 February 2025, the Minister announced that a new student accommodation strategy was in development, which would be completed in 2025. We were then told that the much-awaited strategy would be delivered in quarter 4 of 2025. We are now in 2026. While we are told the strategy will be published in the coming weeks, we still do not have a definitive date and the gap between strategies is growing further apart.
From March, student-specific accommodation providers will be able to reset rents to market value, and every three years thereafter. Is that correct? While it is welcome that these rent hikes will be attached to the property rather than the tenant, is it fair that students are being unfairly targeted for more rent hikes than others? While I welcome the rise in extra payments to help them, it simply is not enough.
We know the majority of students rent from the private market. What protections is the Minister fighting for to be put in place for these students who, as we know, renew their lease on an annual basis?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-29