Simon Harris will not sign off on student accommodation sale without alternatives
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Higher Education Minister Simon Harris says he will not sign off on any sale of student accommodation unless alternatives are found.
The reported on Thursday that the Government is eyeing up a €57m student accommodation complex in Cork to house international protection applicants (IPAs).
The privately-owned property in Cork City is currently accommodating third-level students but if the Government agrees to buy the site, it will be used to house up to 400 IPAs.
Speaking to RTÉ's News At One, Mr Harris said that he "does not believe" the facility will be purchased.
"The Department of Integration has a job to do and they do it well in difficult circumstances. But I too have a job to do and that's to make sure students have somewhere to live."
He said that if student accommodation was to be used, he would "need to have a clear line of sight in advance as to where the students were going to live, how they'd have rents at the same price and when it would be available."
Mr Harris said that the Department of Integration has had discussions on the Cork site, but said that as a Cabinet member, he would need "clear answers" about what would happen to the students currently living in the apartments.
The understands Department of Integration officials are to bring the proposal back to the table, having first proposed it in October last year.
If the Government signs off on the deal, it would be included in the revised white paper which will outline the State’s long-term plan on housing asylum seekers.
Mr Harris said that he would like to see accommodation for housing students become less reliant on the private sector and that 48,000 beds in student accommodation have been built in recent years.