Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The structure of the property market in Ireland has changed dramatically in the past decade. In 2002, 11.4% of households and families were accommodated in the private rented sector. Today, that figure is well above 20% and it continues to grow each day. Effectively, the number of Irish households renting privately has doubled in recent years. As a society, we must adjust to that. With more and more Irish people being housed in private rented accommodation, it is vital that rent remains affordable and that people renting have an appropriate amount of protection and security in their tenancy.

The most recent data from the Private Residential Tenancies Board for quarter 2 of 2015 show that on an annual basis nationally rents were 7.1% higher than in quarter 2 of 2014. These annual rates of increase were driven mainly but not exclusively by the Dublin market. Overall, in the 12 months to the end of quarter 2 of 2015, rents were higher by 9.2% in Dublin and similarly large increases have been experienced in Cork, Galway and other urban centres. A combination of the shortage of supply in appropriate areas, continued population growth and increased levels of employment and earnings is driving this increase in rents across the State. The shortage of supply is being addressed through the Construction 2020 strategy for the building industry, which is aimed at addressing issues in the property and construction sectors and ensuring that any bottlenecks that might impede the sector's ability to scale up the supply of residential units are addressed. This is particularly necessary in the Dublin region, where both population and employment continue to grow strongly. This is placing further upward pressure on rents.

Another important element in bringing more supply on stream is the €3.8 billion in Exchequer funding to 2020 that I secured to fund the social housing strategy. This will provide 35,000 new residential units and support 75,000 households in finding accommodation through schemes such as the housing assistance payment, HAP. The implementation of this strategy is progressing well and my Department is liaising closely with local authorities to ensure that new social housing units are delivered as swiftly as possible. I have also provided funding to local authorities to take on an additional 300 staff to speed up the delivery of social housing and construction in general as they had been moved out of this space by previous Administrations.

The problems in the property market and, in particular, the ongoing situation concerning the numbers of families in emergency accommodation is deeply concerning to me and to the Government. I increased the funding allocation for homelessness services to €70 million in 2016, an rise of €17 million from this year. I also recently ordered an increase in the homeless HAP pilot in Dublin. These changes mean that families who find themselves homeless will now be able to access private rented accommodation to a value of 50% above the regular rent supplement limits in Dublin, helping many families in emergency accommodation to find suitable housing.

While these measures are all important in dealing with the current problems in the housing sector, the continuing increase in rent levels is of deep concern to me and poses a serious challenge. Working closely with my Government colleagues, I am exploring options which will give more security to tenants and families in the private rental sector.

Ultimately, the solution to the issue of the rapid rise in rents, and to the problems in the housing sector generally, will require a whole-of-Government response. While some of the levers for dealing with this problem lie outside my Department, the Government remains determined to tackle this problem in a forthright manner. Discussions on measures which will give more security and certainty to tenants are ongoing, and I believe they will conclude shortly.

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