157. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the engagement he has had with University College Cork and Munster Technological University Cork on the housing crisis and the impact on student accommodation in Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34346/26]

Sentiment score: 0.05

I wish to ask about the Minister's engagement with University College Cork and the Munster Technological University in Cork on the housing crisis and the impact on student accommodation in Cork. This is something that has been spoken about at a consistent level by the Labour Party and by me and my colleagues, Senator Harmon, and an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, Deputy Sheehan.

Sentiment score: 0.28

I appreciate that there have been developments in student accommodation. However, Cork, as a county with a huge university city, has the lowest proportion of public student accommodation beds available at 18%. In February 2026, a report by Sherry FitzGerald showed that the State needs at least 38,900 beds to keep up with the demand. The report says that for every 13 students across the south-west region, which is inclusive of Cork and Kerry, there are ten beds, and that with roughly 30,300 students enrolled, there is a shortfall of approximately 9,900 beds. This report assumed that those living in their own counties do not avail of accommodation. We are taking that assumption that people from towns such as my own, Mallow, do not move up to Cork city, if they are attending UCC or the Munster Technological University, MTU, or any other further or higher education facility. The significant shortfall is there. It is probably due to a lack of forward planning for many decades, within the former Department of Education more so that the newly formed Department of further and higher education. I understand that there has been progress but significant progress has to be made in Cork.

Sentiment score: 0.10

In relation to what my colleague, Senator Harmon, has said in relation to the technological universities being allowed to borrow to build student accommodation, is it something that the Minister and the Department are taking seriously? There would be an appetite there from MTU. In relation to private rented accommodation, we have had many debates across this House on private rental student accommodation, particularly in Cork city where a lot of the time, in a lot of the situations I have come across, the accommodation has been completely unsatisfactory. It is due to the fact that we have students in our county who are going to our colleges or further and higher education institutes and have been forced to go into these private rented accommodation settings because of the lack of publicly available student accommodation beds. While I appreciate that progress is being made on it, we have to move this on as quickly as possible. Will the Minister give an assurance to the House that technological universities, such as MTU, could borrow to build?

Sentiment score: 0.03