8. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his Department's plans to provide adequate protections for students renting in digs accommodation. [14649/25]

Sentiment score: 0.18

I wish the Minister the very best of luck in his new role. I look forward to working with him. How does the Government plan to protect third level students who are in digs accommodation? Over recent weeks and months, we have had people into the audiovisual room explaining the very difficult situation they are in with regard to their accommodation. Digs accommodation may not be the first preference for many students and it may not be ideal for either the student or the landlord but, in a housing crisis, it is often the best option they have.

Sentiment score: 0.13

I thank the Minister for that. I agree that there needs to be a variety of accommodation. My own daughter is in college and travels quite a long distance to get there-----

Sentiment score: 0.24

-----because there is no on-campus accommodation, which would be ideal for a great many people. It is also very expensive. I live in Dublin 8 and quite a lot of student accommodation was built in the area over recent years. However, it is totally unaffordable for the average student with rents of €1,250 per month. If it is a five-week month, it is €1,350. That accommodation is totally unaffordable for most students. Digs accommodation is affordable but the difficulty is that, as we have heard over the last while, students can be thrown out at a moment's notice and there is no protection. I am a little bit concerned that the protection the Minister has mentioned is voluntary. It should not be voluntary but mandatory.

Sentiment score: 0.02

The flipside is that parents sending children into digs accommodation cannot be sure they will be fully protected. That is also a challenge. I agree with the Minister that there definitely needs to be balance from the perspective of both the landlord or digs provider and of the student. These students are often in their first year and do not have a big network so we need to have that protection in place. The students union at the University of Galway did a survey of members and found that 28% of students said their accommodation had a negative impact on their education. To go back to what previous speakers have said, a negative impact on education can make it more likely that people will drop out. We do not want that because education is absolutely vital to progression in this community and society. We want to do the best we can for students. It would be fantastic if the framework could be a little bit more mandatory. I do not want the Minister to frighten people away but we do need to protect students more.

Sentiment score: 0.17