320. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update regarding affordable student accommodation; and his plan to tackle student homelessness. [48285/26]

Supporting individuals and families experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness is a priority for my Department and Government.

My Department has no role in relation to the provision of student accommodation. Responsibility for student accommodation policy rests with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

Notwithstanding this, our housing plan, ‘Delivering Homes, Building Communities: An Action Plan on Housing Supply and Targeting Homelessness’ is an integrated housing and homelessness plan. The plan is based on two key pillars: activating the supply of 300,000 more homes; and supporting people to have a home of their own.

Increased supply is key to addressing homelessness. Government is focused on making sure that everyone has access to good quality, affordable and secure homes that suit their needs. Over €9 billion in capital funding will be made available for housing in 2026. Our Plan recognises that homelessness is the single most pressing social issue that we face and introduces key measures to address homelessness. Ensuring the implementation of these measures will be a priority for me in 2026.

I recognise that young people are at a particular risk of homelessness. The Government's Youth Homelessness Strategy ran from 2023-2025. I am now establishing a sub-group of the National Homeless Action Committee to ensure a continued focus on youth homelessness, to oversee the mainstreaming of key actions in the Strategy, including Supported Housing for Youth and the Shared Accommodation Scheme, and to identify new actions which should be progressed in response to new trends.

The Government has also introduced a number of homeless prevention measures. In particular, the enhanced protections in the recent rental legislation will ensure security of tenure for young people in the rental market. In addition, the introduction of a national Homelessness Prevention Framework later this year will support further developments in this area.

In relation to student accommodation, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science published the Student Accommodation Strategy 2025–2035 on 24 March 2026. The Strategy responds to the projected requirement for approximately 42,000 additional student accommodation bed spaces by 2035.

Furthermore, that Department's National Access Plan address the wider struggles and challenges for students. The plan identifies people with experience of homelessness as underrepresented in Higher Education. In addition, there are a number of supports available for students, including the SUSI Grant, the PATH 2 1916 Bursary, Student Accommodation Assistance, and the Student Assistance Fund. Over €19.3m is provided in the Student Assistance Fund to support students who have an emergency financial need, approximately 22,400 students were supported via this fund in the 2024/2025 academic year.