Chris Andrews (Dublin South East, Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill. Clearly we are in difficult and challenging economic times. The decisions we will need to make will be very difficult but they will need to be made. Of course it is never easy to take money away from people or reduce their income, but that will need to be done across the board, because we need to make ourselves more competitive in a global context. We are not doing it just for ourselves. We are doing it to ensure that other countries, international markets and international political institutions realise that Ireland can and will make the difficult decisions. While geographically we might be an island, politically and economically we are not. We export 80% of all we produce. Our relationship with other countries is vital and their perception of us is vital. With this budget the Government has grasped the nettle. As has been said it will be the first of five difficult budgets with four more to come. It will not get any easier in the short term. It could be said that if we do not take the unpleasant medicine now we will be taking much more unpleasant medicine for significantly longer.

There are a number of aspects to the Bill, one of which relates to rent supplement. As it stands 84,000 people are in receipt of rent supplement, which is a very large number of people. That rent supplement provides support for those for whom local authority housing is not an option in the short term. It also acts as an umbrella for those at risk of homelessness. A previous speaker mentioned that landlords would be happy to sit on their flats or apartments without having tenants and getting rent. I do not believe that is the case. Landlords with property will want to rent it out. They are pragmatic and if that means they will be renting it out at a reduced rate, they will do so. They certainly become more pragmatic when the banks are chasing them down looking for their payments. Landlords will not happily refuse to reduce rents and have a vacant flat rather than getting some level of income, albeit somewhat reduced. An occupied flat with an income coming through is the likely result.

Like other Deputies, I have received a number of e-mails stating that the reduction in rent supplement should not lead to homelessness. It is exaggerating to suggest that this measure would lead to homelessness - I do not believe it will. There may be individual cases where landlords refuse to reduce the rent. However it is not beyond the wit of man, the local authorities or social welfare to deal with the consequences of a few belligerent landlords. The State should not be held to ransom to line the pockets of a few landlords who do not believe they should move with the times and reduce rent. Landlords are pragmatic and will reduce rents when it is put to them. The State is spending more than €490 million on rent supplement and it is vital that we get value for money. It is necessary for us to cut our cloth to measure. Landlords cannot be allowed to get away with charging high rents.

Today I spoke to private tenants who are moving from a very small flat with two single bedrooms. They had a contract from over a year ago and were being charged more than €1,500 for that flat. They are taking their time in moving because there is a significant reduction by landlords in the rents they are charging. They are looking at a large two-bedroom apartment in a very nice area in the docklands in my constituency of Dublin South-East which is available at €1,100.

There is, therefore, a significant saving. I see no reason the State should not benefit from a reduction in rents, particularly when costs across the economy are reducing. I see no reason that some landlords should try to hold onto the higher rents or imply they might make people homeless. They should not be allowed get away with that. The State cannot base its legislation on being held to ransom by such landlords.

Another aspect of the Bill is the imaginative and innovative proposal to provide a free preschool year for children. The early child care supplement that preceded this cost the State €480 million in 2008. We must cut our cloth to measure and ensure that we get value for money. The early childhood care and education scheme does this in an innovative way. There has been much discussion about the loss to families caused by the loss of the supplement. It seems to me that does not focus on the purpose of the exercise, namely, care for children, as evident from the term "child care".

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