Student Accommodation and Supports: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-26 ============================================================ Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. It is great to have this discussion here on such an important issue as student accommodation. When we talk about student accommodation, this is part of the wider housing crisis, but it is not just about housing. It is about access to education in general, be it further education, apprenticeships or higher education. It is also a question of the cost of living and of student poverty. This is so important. I know I always say it but I was the president of the Union of Students of Ireland 11 years ago. This was an issue then and it is becoming even more of an issue now. We knew this was an issue then and I believe there was not enough forward planning and action put in place at the time. Now we are in the situation we are in. The president of the Munster Technological University is on record at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science as saying that student housing is now the biggest barrier to access to college in Ireland. This is a significant statement. We know that people are commuting for hours every day. People are sleeping on couches and these numbers are not recorded. They are part of those hidden homelessness figures. We have a lot of overcrowding in student housing as well, and there is a need for more inspections of that. We have people who are considering deferring college because they cannot find somewhere to live. We can predict the headlines every September about the scramble for student accommodation. It has been the same every year for 15 years-plus and it will be the same again this year, unfortunately, during what should be a very exciting time for people when they are embarking on that journey. There is research on the shortfall of beds currently, and I would question whether the student accommodation strategy is ambitious enough in addressing that shortfall of beds. There is mixed messaging and a mixed reception to the strategy from student unions, students and colleges. The colleges have questions about the risk they might be undertaking financially in building student accommodation on campus. We cannot afford to wait ten years for action on this. Students in Cork face some of the highest rents in the country. We know there are students paying up to €330 a week for shared accommodation and for sharing bathrooms. Students are paying €450 a week for studios. What we need is affordable and good quality accommodation. It is not luxury we are looking for. My colleague Deputy Eoghan Kenny has also raised this with the Minister in the Dáil. The Deputy quoted a figure that for every 13 students in Cork and Kerry, there only about ten beds available. There are 206 beds in Cork under a commencement notice, with planning for 1,700 more. We need to ensure, however, that more beds are made available. I also question part of the evaluation of the student accommodation strategy. Will the rent-a-room relief scheme be included in that in the number of beds that are made available? Will modular homes or sheds that are built in back gardens be counted in those figures if students are living in those? I think that is a cop out. I do not think they can be classified as purpose-built student accommodation. We also need more protection under licensee agreements for those living in digs. A lot of those students are very vulnerable and international students cannot just go home on the weekend. They cannot just have Monday to Friday leases. Another issue I have been vocal on and have tried to champion since becoming a Senator is the sex-for-rent issue, which was mentioned here. We know that 5% of international students have seen ads for this or they have been directly propositioned. Again, this needs to be clamped down on. Legislation from the Minister for justice is proposed and the Bill is going through the Houses of the Oireachtas. We need to make sure this legislation is as strong as it possibly can be. Technological universities need to borrow, acquire land and build their own accommodation as part of this. It was very disappointing to see colleges, particularly UCC and DCU, trying to overcome the rent pressure zone legislation and caps by increasing service charges. We need to have a rent cap and we need to clamp down on this legislatively. The Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, has a role in ensuring this is regulated. I will make one last comment as I know my time is out. The House knows my views on the student contribution fee. I would see this as an increase and not a cut on the previous year. It needs to be reduced further. I state on the record that Fine Gael Senators resolutely opposed that measure that was taken in the previous budget with the increase. They are on record in this House opposing that. We need to ensure it is reduced further during the lifetime of this Government. That was the commitment in the programme for Government. Students and families need clarity on that as well. It was the late great Niamh Bhreathnach who brought in free fees for third level in the 1990s. The Minister has an opportunity to have that moment as well. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-26/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:59+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-26