Overcrowded student housing
Deputy Farrell described shocking overcrowding and poor conditions for international students and blamed the Government. The Tánaiste rejected that as a government legacy, saying landlords and regulators had responsibility and should stamp out such behaviour.
College students face serious challenges due to the housing crisis. Last week, the Irish Council for International Students told us shocking stories about the way international students have been housed. We heard of a three-bed house in which ten students were living. They were told that another person would join them for that person to live in a tent in the back garden. They paid €300 for that privilege. There were 11 people sharing one bathroom. That is the legacy of the Tánaiste’s Government. That is the legacy of his Government for students. How can he stand over this?
Comment on this
No it is not. It is a legacy of the landlord or whoever owns the house. There is individual responsibility on this too. There is also the RTB and there are regulatory authorities. The regulatory authorities should be acting on something like that. There is the local authority, in respect of the residential area involved and there is a whole range of regulatory frameworks that govern that type of behaviour and it should be stamped out. There is no place for that and I do not condone that at all.