Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Government's recent announcement of its package of rent stability measures. These are badly needed and will go some way towards providing certainty for both tenants and landlords. The situation could no longer continue whereby tenants were arriving home to find notification letters stating their rent was increasing by 20% or 30% with immediate effect. I have heard of cases where tenants were subletting their bedroom at weekends so that they could pay the exorbitant rents at the end of the month. People need security and rent certainty. Many tenants are working hard to pay rent and they deserve to be able to plan for their future and be secure in the knowledge that rent reviews can only take place every 24 months.

I am also cognisant of the problem faced by many landlords who own single dwellings as a result of negative equity and know that they are often struggling too. I am aware of a number of couples who bought apartments during the Celtic tiger years thinking they were getting onto the property ladder. Some of these couples now have families and some have split up and are now forced to rent somewhere else while renting out the properties they bought as a starter home.

I welcome the affordable rental pilot project to be developed and launched in early 2016. Urban areas, such as Dún Laoghaire and its environs, are extremely densely populated. Long-term, affordable residential accommodation must be provided for low to moderate income workers in these areas. We cannot allow spiralling rents to continue to push many homes beyond the reach of moderate income workers. The issue of housing supply must be addressed, and in a way that is sustainable. Nobody wants to see a repeat of the pyrite issues or poorly constructed houses. Every time I return home to visit my parents in County Galway, I am angered by the sight of the many partly vacant estates throughout rural Ireland while families are crying out for housing. The introduction of a vacant site levy from 2019 will, hopefully, incentivise many developers around the country to start building sustainable housing.

This issue must be addressed as a matter of urgency. The long-term solution to homelessness is to increase the supply of homes. I too have received calls and e-mails from constituents who are homeless or on a housing list and in desperate need. One man who contacted me recently informed me his parents had recently passed away and he now finds himself homeless. He is now living in a bed and breakfast establishment. I am also aware of recently separated mothers and their children becoming homeless and being forced to live in bed and breakfast accommodation and emergency refuge shelters. People who have suffered domestic violence and who have been forced to leave their homes are searching for new ones.

The cold weather action plan for rough sleepers in the Dublin region is now in place. This plan has guaranteed additional beds, hot food, showers and on site health supports for the homeless. I urge county councils to rush through the provision of the 500 modular housing units approved for homeless families across Dublin. While these units are not a long-term solution to the problem of homelessness, they are a safe and immediate response that will take people off the streets.

I urge the Government to proceed with the introduction of rent certainty and for the housing of the homeless to continue to be a top priority. I fully recognise that no magic wand will solve these issues tomorrow and that tonight's business has not proposed any real solutions. I welcome the recent measures announced by the Minister and I urge for their implementation as a priority.

See this speech in context