Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Regarding rent caps, as the Deputy will know, the Government has in place limits on the degree to which rent can be increased at any point in time. The reason we do not have the kind of cap the Deputy wants is that we believe it will ultimately lead to a reduction in the supply of rental accommodation and to even more landlords leaving the rental sector, with the accommodation and rental difficulties of which we are all aware only becoming worse. That is the reason we have not gone down the path the Deputy wants us to go down. Over time, it would be a recipe for even fewer rental properties being available, which in turn would be a recipe for higher rents. Instead, we are doing all we can to either build homes directly or support the supply of homes. There are some positive signs around our efforts with regard to supply. In the 12 months up to March of this year, 35,000 new homes were commenced, which is the highest level of commencement since 2008. The Deputy would make the point that additional supply does not automatically lead to affordable rent or lower pricing of homes but I have yet to come across a situation in which rent would become more affordable or the price of homes would go down by building fewer homes. I have not come across that. The precondition to making progress on the affordability of rent and buying, and for first homes in particular, is building more homes and getting more homes built. That is what we are working very hard to do. Many will want us to do more, build more homes and make sure they are available at lower rents and lower prices. We are committing massive resources on behalf of the State to getting those homes built and there is a clear sign now, for the first time in a while, that commencements are going to go solidly above 30,000. We need to maintain that year after year in order that more homes are available at more affordable rents and more affordable prices.

On a windfall tax, I assume the Deputy is referring to the companies involved in the supply of energy. If we were to look at something like that here in Ireland, it would mean higher taxes on semi-State bodies such as the ESB and Bord Gáis. In turn, all that will do is influence the dividend they are going to return to the State or reduce the money they have available to invest in all the things we need to do to reduce our reliance on imported fuel in the first place. While I can understand the lure and attraction of pushing a policy like that, in this case we ultimately would be talking about semi-State bodies being asked to pay more tax. Surely the Deputy can see the circular effect that will have on the dividends we receive and the investments we want those companies to go ahead with. If that is not what the Deputy is referring to, then another option is higher taxes on the suppliers of renewable energy. Renewable energy is the way out of this, over time, and I would argue that taxing those who are at the heart of trying to provide new sources of energy supply is the wrong direction to go. That is why we have put in place alternative measures to try to help with the cost of living. The Deputy will make the case that they are not enough but this year alone, those measures to help those who are facing such challenges are worth over €1 billion. They will help. They cannot cover all the costs but I would respectfully contend that they do make a difference.