Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I have two more, which I will send on to the Minister of State. Even if those advertisements did not exist people would be given a telephone interview and would be refused for having rent allowance on that basis.

I wish to return to the issue of rent, including those who are not on rent supplement. There is another property, an apartment block, in the Tánaiste's constituency where a letter was sent just before Christmas to the whole block saying the rent for the apartments would rise from €1,000 to €1,250 per month from a certain date. It said, "If you do not wish to renew your lease at this rent please inform us [before a certain date]". In other words what it effectively said was, "Accept the increase or get out". What are those people to do? What is the Labour Party or the Tánaiste and Minister of State going to offer to do for those people? Occupants of a whole apartment block are being told to put up or shut up and to pay this increase.

On the families who have received letters, one is from Fisher Property Management in Cherryfield in Hartstown, which the Tánaiste will know well.

3 o’clock

They are very modest houses but the rent is increasing from €900 to €1,300 per month. Yes, I did think of advising them to go to the community welfare officer, CWO, but why has the Minister not introduced rent controls to stop this type of rack-renting occurring? That family will not be housed by Fingal County Council by the eviction date, as is the case in many councils around the country. Will the Minister join me in advising families who are receiving such letters to stay in their homes and to refuse to vacate those houses until they have alternative accommodation, which, unfortunately, due to the way the Government has mismanaged the housing crisis by not acknowledging it as an emergency, will not happen any time soon? People should not make themselves homeless.

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