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

He must allow me to be more precise if I was not clear in what I said. My understanding and knowledge is that in Berlin they froze rents, which I understand is what the Deputy's party wants to do. Since those rents were frozen the amount of new rental accommodation that is available has gone down. That is my contention in respect of the impact a rent freeze would have on the availability of rental accommodation. This is very relevant to the evaluation of the Sinn Féin policy. I have acknowledged that in the past I said I did not believe a rental tax credit was the right response to the challenges we faced in recent years. I have already said in answering the Deputy's question that I believe the change in conditions over the last year due to the further reduction in rental supply and the impact of inflation on our economy and the cost of living mean such a measure is merited now. I believe it is merited. Do I believe there is a risk that this could lead to a transfer of income to landlords? That risk is there. I have also acknowledged, as the Deputy just quoted back to me, that this risk has been there over recent years. Even with that risk in place, I still believe this measure is now needed because of what is happening in our economy and for the reasons I have just described.

I make the case back to the Deputy that if we are in the business of looking at risks, bringing in a rent freeze would over time lead to an even greater reduction in the availability of rental accommodation and an even greater difficulty in new rental accommodation being built, which is a recipe for high rents. I put it to the Deputy that we are seeing that happen in Berlin at the moment. That is why I believe the Sinn Féin proposal of a rent freeze would quite quickly become bad for renters and those who want to rent. The evidence of that is in Berlin.