Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Jordan for attending.

What I am going to ask has been influenced by what the other Deputies have said. Everyone agrees we need to build more social housing through local authorities but we must also accept that there will always be people who want to live in the private rental sector. The lack of regulation and leaving the sector to the markets to regulate have been a failure. Has Mr. Jordan any recommendations as to how we could tackle the issue of rent certainty in the short term? We realise every dimension of the market, including housing supply, is dysfunctional currently. This means we must work in a dysfunctional market and are not trying to operate in a regular situation. What ideas has Mr. Jordan as to how we could make private rental properties affordable again? We are at a high point currently. How can we deal with that? Can we get it down in the short term and how could we move to try to introduce measures to provide rent certainty across the board?

With regard to the point made that it is a disgrace local authorities did not take up the properties offered by NAMA, I would like to point out that much of what NAMA offered local authorities was not fit for purpose. It is a pity local authorities did not get a better choice of what NAMA was selling to vulture funds. In Berlin, there is a rule to provide that certain properties must be made available to the state before investment funds can buy them. This is something we should consider. Our local authorities should have had access to suitable, fit-for-purpose units that have ended up in the hands of vulture funds.