Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)

Great. For the landlord organisations, Threshold’s research shows that most renters do not want to rent. Just 6% of those surveyed are renting by choice. Most renters want to own their own homes or be in social housing and have permanent security of tenure. Is there an issue with that? Just 8% of housing in Ireland in the 1990s was owned by private landlords. There was majority home ownership at the time. Is our problem that we do not have high enough home ownership and that we need to deliver homes that people can buy rather than more private rental properties that will leave people unable to buy homes? Many people say they are paying rent rather than being able to save to buy homes.