Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ireland is now one of the most expensive places in which to rent in Europe. Last year the average increase in rent was 9.3% - it was 9.7% outside Dublin. Rents have returned almost to the level they were at the peak of the housing bubble. Individuals and families throughout the country are already struggling to keep a roof over their heads and yet the Government is unwilling to intervene in the market unless, of course, it is to give tax breaks and incentives to developers. There are no breaks for ordinary families.

The Government promised rent certainty and rent control. All the Minister, Deputy Kelly, could deliver was a two-year rent freeze, which in reality is just a delayed rent review. It has also resulted in an immediate increase in rent for some. The Government promised investment in social housing. The Minister, Deputy Kelly, boasted of a tenfold increase in social housing build, but let us be clear that is a tenfold increase from 20 houses.

This is a case of far too little and much too late. The reality is that the Labour Party has sided with Fine Gael against struggling families. For families who had hoped to own a home, that hope is fading. Labour promised not to introduce, ironically, water charges, but it did that. Today we hear that the Government intends stopping local authority tenants from having the right to buy their homes if they have not paid the water charge. That is some record.

The Labour Party's approach to housing is like its approach to water charges. It folds and adopts Fine Gael policy. It has failed tenants, it has failed families and its policies have created incredible hardship. Is it not now time to go back to the drawing board and deliver what it promised, which was rent control, rent certainty and security for tenants? Is it not time to revisit the things it promised to block, specifically water charges?

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