My question also pertains to the student accommodation crisis. Many of the 1,055 student accommodation units that have been transferred to short-term lets are in my constituency.

I will switch angle and go another way on an issue similar to that raised by Deputy Kelly. There is a rental crisis throughout the country. The Social Democrats has been advocating a three-year ban on rent increases. There are a multitude of innovative and practical solutions that will alleviate the housing crisis experienced by the students outside the gates of Leinster House and people all over the country at present. Will the Government finally commit to a ban on rent increases for three years that will alleviate the accommodation crisis they are experiencing?

The Government has introduced a rent freeze in real terms. That means rents cannot increase by more than the rate of inflation.

It is 3%.

It means that rents will rise at a similar rate to the cost of living and, most likely, at a lower rate than the rise in incomes and wages. As things stand, and we always keep things under review, we believe an absolute rent freeze, or a 0% increase for three years, would be counterproductive. It would mean a rent reduction in real terms and would drive more property owners out of the rental market. People who currently own a rental property getting a reduced return in real terms each year-----

Put the houses on planes and fly them out.

-----would be more likely to sell up. What happens if they sell up? The person living there gets a notice to quit and there is one fewer place for people to rent. We have to be careful not to do things that may be well intentioned but could be counterproductive.

I ask the Tánaiste to go outside to meet the students who will sleep out overnight to highlight the student accommodation crisis. They will tell him this is the worst the crisis has ever been. They will tell him stories about the very many students who still have no accommodation, who are commuting long distances every day, who are paying extortionate money in hotel fees or who are couch-surfing. As their slogan states, "No Keys, No Degrees". It is an unsustainable situation. As it stands, students will not be able to complete their education and we will have huge numbers dropping out as a consequence. They are the victims of a housing policy that has prioritised hotels over sustainable, purpose-built student accommodation and allowed private developers to build private student accommodation with, again, extortionate, unaffordable prices for most. Their request is for action now from the Government. What will it do?

As I mentioned, we have increased the student assistance fund, which will assist students who are in financial distress and need assistance. We have brought in affordability measures on student accommodation, including capping increases in rent pressure zones. Legislation has also been passed to restrict the upfront payments students used to have to make, payments of up to €3,500, which are no longer allowed. There is also an option to pay monthly and, crucially, we are giving technological universities the ability to borrow to build student accommodation because a big part of the solution is more student accommodation on, or near, campus on a cost-rental basis.

The difficulty we have, which has been identified by the universities, is that the cost of building is now so high that even on a cost-rental basis it still results in high rents. It is still the view of the Government that a major part of the solution, given the huge expansion in the number of students and the fact more people are attending third level education than ever before, and from more diverse backgrounds than ever before, which should be celebrated, is more on-campus and near-campus accommodation.