Local Fianna Fáil Deputy Robert Troy has called for a framework for Technological Universities (TUs ) to be urgently put in place to give them the authority to borrow in order to provide student accommodation amid the ongoing nationwide shortage.
In response to a Parliamentary Question from Deputy Troy, Simon Harris, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, said that an investment of €1m in 2023/2024 has been announced to support TUs in conducting activation feasibility assessments to ascertain student accommodation needs in campus locations. These assessments, Minister Harris said, will include data-led projections of student numbers and engagement with local authorities to examine potential vacant stock.
“My Department and I are working with relevant Government Departments and Agencies to explore the development of a specific borrowing framework for the TU sector. The options arising from the TU feasibility study will inform this ongoing engagement. It is anticipated that any borrowing framework would in the first instance prioritise the provision of student accommodation in line with commitments in the Government’s Housing for All plan,” Minister Harris stated.
Deputy Troy said technological universities were “crying out for funding” to help students cope with the ongoing shortage in accommodation.
“The response from the Minister highlights his Department’s lethargy at a time when more student accommodation is urgently required. Time should not be wasted on feasibility studies, it should be spent doing everything within the Department’s remit to help universities provide accommodation to students as quickly as possible.
“TUS Athlone, in my own constituency, is an example of one such college that has said it wants to be given the authority to borrow and build student accommodation on campus. This is a no-brainer - they should not be made to wait for the outcome of a feasibility study. The Minister should focus on immediately putting in place mechanisms to allow TUs to borrow to provide accommodation. It would not only mean an increase in student accommodation but would also result in an increase in housing supply across the board as it frees up properties,” Deputy Troy asserted.
