Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If the first element is satisfactory, we will not have to talk so much about the second element because the local authority housing development will have taken place and we will not be reliant on the private rental sector, which, in turn, has been reliant on the Department of Social Protection, as a means of providing what used to be provided by the local authorities. In the course of our work, we need representatives - one at least - of the various groups, but we do not need to go all round the houses for the rest of the year dealing with them. Everyone has a unique story. We all deal with them every day of the week so we should be familiar with them ourselves. At this stage, trying to invent a system that will resolve our housing problems through the private rental sector is not going to happen. It cannot happen because there are not sufficient houses available in the country to meet the demand. Hence, rents are going up. Incidentally, not all landlords jack up the rents on a regular basis. Some landlords are very conscientious and look after their tenants very well. Others are not so caring and that is the group of people we need to zoom in on in the first instance.