Ninth Level Ireland

“Fianna Fáil TD for Mayo, Lisa Chambers, has hit out at Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy, for failing to cap spiralling student accommodation rents. The government has for a second year running failed to implement rent caps on student campus accommodation, according to Chambers …” (more)

[Mayo Advertiser, 16 August]

“More than 140 people have signed a petition against plans for a €30m student village opposite Punch’s Cross. The proposals for 326 bedspaces through 100 apartments and 30 buy-to-rent units are currently being decided An Bord Pleanala, having skipped local planners due to the fact more than 100 living spaces are being provided …” (more)

[Nick Rabbitts, Limerick Leader, 10 August]

“The country’s universities were able to engage in widespread rent hikes because new caps introduced by the Housing Minister don’t take effect until next week. Eoghan Murphy is being accused of ‘incompetence’ after colleges pre-empted his clampdown, rendering it useless for the coming academic term. The Irish Independent revealed yesterday that students are facing rent increases of up to 11.5% year on year for university-owned and on-campus accommodation …” (more)

[Kevin Doyle, Cormac McQuinn and Gabija Gataveckaite, Independent, 8 August]

“More student accommodation spaces have been granted permission this year than any other type of housing under the ‘fast track’ planning system, according to a new report from An Bord Pleanála. Under the Strategic Housing Development system applications for schemes of more than 100 homes, or blocks of 200 student or co-living spaces, are made directly to the board, bypassing the local authority decision phase …” (more)

[Olivia Kelly, Irish Times, 3 August]

“Ireland’s seven universities strongly lobbied to have college-owned student accommodation exempt from legislation to introduce rent caps and extra tenants’ rights for purpose-built student housing. The Irish Universities Association (IUA) claimed new legislation giving more tenancy rights to students would hamper colleges’ ability to deal with cases of alleged sexual assaults in campus accommodation …” (more)

[Jack Power, Irish Times, 20 June]

“This morning, the Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy, presented amendments to the Residential Tenancies bill, which writes into law that students in Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) will no longer see hikes of above 4% year on year and will fully be able to avail of RTB protections, starting in July …” (more)

[USI, 11 April]

“The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD and Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD today (Tuesday, 11 December) welcomed the publication of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2018 by Minister for Housing, planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy TD. The Ministers confirmed the intention to outline amendments to the legislation to include rent predictability measures for students living in purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) under licence agreements, and in PBSA let by a public authority, for the first time …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 11 December]

“Dublin City Councillor Paul McAuliffe has called on Minister Eoghan Murphy to bring all student accommodation in under the Government’s Rent Pressure Zone regulations and for the Residential Tenancies Board to extend its protections to all student renters …” (more)

[Fianna Fáil, 31 March]

“The Government is considering new measures to help students to find accommodation. As the colleges return students have had difficulty finding somewhere to live, with some resorting to couch surfing or staying in hostels …” (more)

[BreakingNews.ie, 25 September]

“Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No 560 of 24 February 2015, her plans to progress the change mooted by her predecessor, so that Irish expatriate citizens and their children, who are also citizens, are not penalised in terms of restrictions to access free-fee university education, in view of the fact that they had left the country for work reasons during the recession …” (more)

[Dáil Éireann Written Answers, 7 May]

“An interesting flurry of stories at the weekend and early this week that suggest a certain softening up of areas in advance of the budget and the election (whenever that is eventually held). How else to interpret the stuff about the public-sector pay cuts being reversed where straight out of the trap FG TDs are coming out against that idea …” (more)

[The Cedar Lounge Revolution, 11 August]

“Two prominent Fine Gael Deputies have strongly criticised comments by Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin on reverses in public-sector pay cuts, with one saying it looked like the Government was ‘back to buying votes’ …” (more)

[Harry McGee and Steven Carroll, Irish Times, 11 August]

“Consultants Grant Thornton have confirmed that controversial methods that led to claimed savings achieved under the Croke Park deal being ‘inflated’, were included in documentation they received from the Government …” (more)

[Daniel McConnnell, Independent, 4 November]

“A Government deputy and Public Accounts Committee member has questioned the basis for claims that almost €700m has been saved in public service non-pay cost cutting …” (more)

[Daniel McConnell, Independent, 14 October]

“Labour & Kenny Highly Supportive of Croke Park … Eamon Gilmore, December 12: ‘The Croke Park Agreement is delivering in terms of the reforms that are required in our public service …'” (more)

[Independent, 26 August]

“Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the percentage of staff working in the public sector, including in the civil services, that he deems to fall into the category of frontline staff, administrative, management, elected representative and any other relevant categories …” (more)

[Dáil Éireann, 12 June]

“Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to establish a database or network of PhD students at universities in the country and details of their work so as to create a portal into this important state resource …” (more)

[Dáil Éireann Written Answers, 15 February]

“A group of students protesting cuts to third-level grants has occupied the Ranelagh constituency office of Dublin TD Eoghan Murphy …” (more)

[TheJournal.ie, 5 December]