Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Whatever the Minister's motivation, whether by design on accident, I would like to know how high rents will go before the penny drops with him that his policies are contributing to the housing crisis and the rental crisis. That is the point. Whatever about whether it was an accident or motivated, and I do not suggest it was motivated, the evidence of the Minister's time in Government is that it has been an unmitigated disaster. There is no way he can hide from it. When he went into Government in 2016 rents were €1,000. They have increased by approximately 50%.

The Minister spoke about Berlin and I am glad that in the past week he has recognised that Berlin no longer has a rent freeze. He spoke about the lack of supply. Here the reduction in supply of rental properties over the past year is 63% according to Threshold and the Citizens Information Board. The point we keep making to the Minister is that the Government's targets on social and affordable housing and cost rental housing are far too low. Of course the Minister can ignore advice. That is not a problem. I am making the point, because I agree with the advice, that in areas where there is no rent freeze a rent credit will go into the pocket of landlords. This is what will happen. It will increase rents. This is why we need a rent freeze. It is why we need the Government to substantially invest in social, affordable and cost rental homes over the three-year period. I genuinely ask because the Minister has been in office for half a decade. Under his stewardship this has gone absolutely crazy. No wonder so many people are giving up hope. It is not fair and it is not right.

On the policies the Minister introduces in the Finance Bill, nobody looks at what happens here, but it is here that the damage is done. It is in budgets and finance Bills that the damage is done, the foundations are laid and the course is set for a housing crisis and a housing disaster. Despite all the indicators saying "disaster", the Minister keeps going down this road and is unwilling to change tack, and that is a serious problem.

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