Mr. John McGeady:

The Deputy raised some very interesting points. On landlords leaving the market and a fall in supply, it is important to remember the houses still exist. They will become occupied by people who wish to live in them or become vacant, in which case they are subject to a vacancy tax, or somebody else will buy them and they will continue as part of the rental market and provide supply that way. There is a serious point here about the distribution of this budget. Something we noted was tax relief for landlords of €600 in 2024 is equivalent to the aggregate €12 increase in core social welfare payments over the course of the year. That comes to €636 over 52 or 53 weeks, including the Christmas bonus. There is therefore a question about how the money and resources are being distributed and it is question of social justice in our view. That is important to raise. Again, we come back to the point about the €12 increase in social welfare. We do not believe that was adequate and feel it needs to be increased by €13 to bring it to a €25 increase in 2024.