Dublin: Some 700 student beds will be partially funded by the state under plans approved by Cabinet today by Higher Education Minister Simon Harris.
Harris proposed the partial funding the construction of student accommodation for three colleges – Maynooth, Limerick and Galway – with planning permission to be granted in return for ring-fencing rooms at a reduced rate for priority groups.
Some 667 beds would be offered at a reduced rate across these three colleges under Harris’s initial proposals.
We'll keep negotiating with UCD and DCU, two more colleges, for a comparable arrangement.
Harris said in a press release: "I am pleased to inform today that Government has approved my request to directly assist in the delivery of student housing.
"With further cooperation on an extra supply, this new policy will permit the building of up to 700 beds.
"I'll also start getting ready for the construction of student housing at our technological universities. We require additional housing in our regions if we are to ensure the success of our TUs and balanced regional growth.
If approved, the plan would include the State providing financial assistance for the construction of student housing in exchange for the first time rental affordability guarantees.
According to a news release from the Department of Higher and Further Education, the immediate goal is to activate new supply in areas where developments already have planning clearance but have not moved further because of rising construction costs.
Students' unions have harshly criticised a prior student housing policy that was agreed upon in 2016 for focusing on purpose-built student housing run by corporate operators.
These housing complexes frequently have high rents and opulent amenities like movie theatres and bowling alleys.
The Union of Students in Ireland has claimed that renting out student housing from a college would be less expensive in the past.
Depending on the size of the bedroom, new rooms at Trinity College this year vary from €245 to €270 per week, plus €19 per week for utilities.
Harris's fresh ideas follow student union accusations that the government is in charge of a "catastrophic" scarcity of dorm space.
According to the UCD Students' Union, several of its members are being forced to postpone their course work because they were unable to locate adequate housing this year, and others have reportedly taken on "substantial debt" in order to pay their rent.
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