That is a disgrace because from the sound of that response from the Minister, Deputy Harris's Department, he is just washing his hands of all of this. The Minister of State in his reply told us that the Minister, Deputy Harris, was "actively pursuing" the issue of securing affordable accommodation. He did not put any money in the budget to build that student accommodation. The Minister of State said the Government had extended the rent pressure zones for a further period. This is a 30% increase in the cost of that …

Will the Government be putting in a-----

The Minister of State did not answer my question. This is ridiculous.

I want to raise the issue of student accommodation and regulation, or rather the lack thereof. In terms of vulture fund-owned student accommodation, I have identified about 45 of these complexes across the State. According to the RTB's latest register, only seven of them were registered with it. We know that around half of these complexes now have some form of a 51-week lease requirement, despite the fact that students do not attend college for 51 weeks of the year. I was recently told by the Taoiseach that the Min…

Is maith an rud é go bhfuil cúrsaí Gaeilge á bplé againn anseo inniu ach ní féidir cúrsaí Gaeilge a phlé gan cúrsaí Gaeltachta a phlé. Ba mhaith liom guth agus glór a thabhairt do ghrúpa pobalbhunaithe atá tar éis teacht le chéile i gConamara chun díriú ar chúrsaí tithíochta. Is é Bánú an t-ainm atá ar an ngrúpa. Deireann a ráiteas an méid seo a leanas: Ó saolaíodh thú is mairg a rá, Go raibh an long anonn i ndán duit. Tá na focail chumhachtacha sin ón amhrán "Cóilín Phádraig Shéamais" chomh fíor inniu agus a bhí s…

My two amendments in the grouping have been tabled on the back of our discussion on Committee Stage when we voted on the matter. On amendment No. 19, I understand the Minister thinks parity of esteem is explicit in the legislation. The reason I am proposing the amendment is to have a report done within one year of passing the Act to determine whether those affected, including researchers and people generally in the third level sector, feel the provisions are strong enough with respect to parity of esteem. The issue…

There are a few points to make on this. We discussed this on Committee Stage, so I do not necessarily want to go over all the relevant points again. I had more amendments but they were not taken. I came back with the concept of a report because it is something we could achieve. It can be and is done. Considering that Members' concerns were not addressed through the acceptance of their amendments, having a report could put their minds at ease. If the Minister is correct regarding there being full parity of esteem an…

I move amendment No. 19: In page 16, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: "(12) The Minister will report back, within one year of the passing of this Act, on whether the principle of parity of esteem should be made more explicit in the legislation.".

I move amendment No. 20: In page 16, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “(12) The Minister will report back, within one year of the passing of this Act, on whether the composition of the board should be comprised of a majority of people who are active researchers from a broad range of fields.”.

I move amendment No. 31: In page 34, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: “(11) The Minister will report back, within one year of the passing of this Act, on foot of legal advice of including the recognition of collective bargaining in the legislation.”.

Me too.

RTÉ has just reported that the proportion of third level students not progressing from first year to second year has risen to 15%. The proportion is almost one quarter for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The reality is that the student accommodation crisis continues to go from bad to worse. Vulture funds now own more student accommodation in Dublin than all the Dublin universities combined. The same goes for the Tánaiste's home county of Cork and the situation is now almost the same in my home county of Ga…

We see that thousands of people feel they have no choice but to go to Australia. I was contacted by one such person who emigrated to Australia recently. He said he has hit the one-year mark in Australia. He is 28 years old and applied for his visa in 2022 and left in 2023. He says he has absolutely loved his time there so far but while constant homesickness makes him want to move back home as soon as possible, he just cannot do so. He is a qualified chef who has worked in the best hotels and restaurants in Ireland …

There is nothing to rent.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and to provide for related matters. I recognise the fact that representatives of USI, UCD and TU Dublin are present. They have done great work, not just in respect of digs accommodation, but in raising more generally the issue of student accommodation and its lack of affordability. I am pleased to introduce my new Bill, which was co-authored with my colleague, An Teachta Ó Broin. The Bill is designed to add…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I listened intently to the Minister of State's response to the Bill, which I commend my colleagues for putting forward. The reality is that we have worked with the Bills Office on this Bill. We have worked with and listened to families and parents and we have listened to children on this legislation. The Minister of State is kicking the can down the road with a promise of action down the line. The mantra we hear from Government is that children can wait. We on this side of the House are clear that children cannot w…

I ask the Minister to provide the details of the refurbishment grant for university student accommodation. Can he confirm as he had stated previously that it was the universities that had requested this?

I am somewhat perplexed by this whole thing. I am unclear as to why Cabinet approval was needed. I have concerns about how fully it was thought through. In 2022 the Irish Independent reported that: "Higher Education Minister Simon Harris is today seeking Government approval for a strategy around State investment in campus accommodation." This was to involve a "Grant paid to colleges, to allow for repurposing of vacant housing stock to accommodate students." I do not understand why Cabinet approval was needed for th…

This is a bit different from what I understood and many people would have understood from the original announcement of this policy. First, it was not clear that the Minister was talking about commercial units as well. It was not clear that he was only talking about technological universities. My understanding from the committee meeting we had was that it applied to the university sector in general and the Minister had stated that the universities had requested this. I submitted parliamentary questions and I even su…