Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I still rent properties in the countryside and the city. Since last September, there has been a dramatic change in rents in Dublin city, mainly due to the fact that banks have not been making money available for people to get on the property ladder. Far more people are renting than had planned on doing so, which has had a dramatic effect on rents. I can see that rents have gone up considerably since last September.

I know that new regulations with regard to bedsits were introduced and I welcome them. However, I am conscious of the point made by Focus Ireland that many people on low incomes were dependent on those cheap bedsits. The Minister is dead right to sort out the landlords and those who do not provide proper accommodation but, at the same time, we must be really careful to ensure these people do not end up homeless and that they are taken care of. I very much welcome the Minister's point that social housing is the way forward.

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