Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The important point I want to make is that I do not disagree with much of what the Deputy is saying. I do not think she is dumping on the system in the context of encouraging long-term letting of property. That is what we have to do in conjunction with the State building more homes. We must get the balance right. I agree with Deputy O'Sullivan on that. There must also be greater support for tenancies. If, however, there are fewer landlords in the business today than three years ago, and I think about 21,000 fewer homes are available to rent now than a year ago, something is going wrong in the system. We need those homes to stay in the market. That is the problem we are facing.