Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for her response. Within my area the waiting list for public housing at the moment can be anywhere between six and nine years. Because of that many people are seeking refuge in the private rented sector. The website to which the Minister referred, which provides information on the quality of rented accommodation, tells its own story. Last year, less than 20 cases were taken by local authorities against landlords for providing sub-standard accommodation.

It is evident to anyone who looks around the inner city of Dublin at the moment that this model is not working. There is a large amount of rental property that is not meeting the criteria set out by local authorities. On the North Circular Road alone, 84% of properties have multiple occupancy and a large number of them do not meet the criteria set out by law. Many of those properties have tenants who are in receipt of rent supplement. We need to either give more power to local authorities or they need to be incentivised to use existing powers to tackle the problem. We are seeing pervasive urban decay that is affecting tenants and other residents.

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