Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not doubt the Deputy's commitment to the housing issue, but he presented a narrative that is almost wholly negative, as if nothing was happening in housing or house building. He omitted to say that in quarter 4 last year, rents had not just stabilised but very modestly came down. He is looking at the annualised figures, which may indicate the increased supply of last year and the year before is beginning to have an impact. The answer is supply.

I have watched the Deputy's policies for quite a while and there is no doubt his policies for the rental sector would depress supply, reduce the number of houses available for rent and continue the worrying exodus from the market by landlords, particularly those with one house in addition to their own home, using it for a potential pension in the future or whatever. The vast majority of landlords are small and many are getting out of the rental market. The uncertainty, the general commentary around it and specific policy proposals, they argue, have led to a decline in the number of rental properties available. We have to do everything we can to ensure more supply comes into the rental market and, in addition, to build more houses.

It is not spin but factual to say that since the Government came into office 110,000 houses have been built. That is a fact, notwithstanding the two lockdowns for the construction sector as a result of Covid. We had 33,000 new house completions in 2023, the highest in 15 years, and exceeded our target by 13%. Some 33,000 homes were commenced in 2023, with 4,900 housing starts in March 2024, an increase of 51% on March of last year, which the Deputy did not refer to. That is the highest number of homes commenced in any March since records began. Meanwhile, planning permission was granted for over 41,000 new homes in 2023, an increase of 21%. The volume of purchases by all households increased to 50,000 in the year to February 2024 with more than one third of those first-time buyers. Nearly 38,000-----

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