Sinn Féin MLA John O’Dowd has written to the Economy Minister to request that he carries out an urgent review on the availability of student accommodation in light of the shortage on Queen’s Campus.

The party’s spokesperson on higher and further education said:

“The ongoing uncertainty for students around student accommodation is very worrying and disruptive to their learning. 

“This issue has been caused by the fact that the current provision cannot meet the demand from students particularly in Belfast.

“As a result, many students are having to make alternative travel arrangements in order to attend classes. 

“I have today asked the Economy Minister to conduct an urgent review on these shortages and to establish an action plan on how we can address this. 

“It is imperative that lessons are learned so that the issues seen at Queen’s University over the past few weeks are not repeated in the future.”