Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is with frustration and disappointment that I will oppose the motion. I am frustrated because I wanted this Dáil to be different from its previous incarnations when the Chamber was used for party political gamesmanship, rather than as a forum for exchanges on policy proposals that would resolve the challenges facing the nation. There is no doubt that housing is a national crisis that requires urgent action. It was for this very reason that, despite the uncertainty around Government formation, the House decided to establish an all-party committee on housing and homelessness. Calls for the committee's creation were led by Sinn Féin and the committee, with members from Sinn Féin, including Deputy Eoin Ó Broin, working very hard under the chairmanship of my colleague, Deputy John Curran, to produce a report that will contain targeted actions to be published within 72 hours. As I do not have access to the report, I can only assume that it addresses the issue of rent certainty effectively and with a significant input from Deputy Ó Broin.

The responsible, purposeful and correct course of action would be to wait for the report and implement the actions it recommends as quickly as possible. While there will be differences of opinion on some of these actions, as is to be expected, to pre-empt the report with a simplistic Bill designed to generate publicity is not new politics but old, cynical and frustrating politics which I will not support.

I will work positively and in good faith with every Deputy from every political perspective who wants to provide solutions for those trapped in a rental market in which rents are rocketing out of control. We must not be tempted to put in place quick-fix solutions which would have the counterproductive effect of causing rental houses and apartments to be sold, thus shrinking supply even further.

I am saddened because families and tenants who are experiencing increasing and unaffordable rents, with the financial pressure and anxiety that goes with these, deserve better than the political game being played tonight. They are looking to politicians to work together to tackle what is a complex social and economic issue. Housing is a social and economic right, not a speculative market to be exploited at will. This Dáil must work to re-establish a working housing sector in which the rental market fits into a wider housing framework designed for the demographic realities of 2016 and beyond.

As a Deputy from Wicklow-East Carlow, I am acutely aware of the various rental issues in my commuting constituency. In north County Wicklow rents have spiralled out of reach for prospective tenants and out of control for existing tenants. The Bill, if passed, would result in an increase in the number of property owners exiting the rental market, thus forcing more families out of their homes. This is an indisputable and sad fact. I have already observed this development in the rental accommodation scheme under which local authorities pay rent to private landlords on behalf of tenants for a set term. The gap between what can be paid by local authorities and what the private rental sector can demand has increased dramatically throughout Wicklow in recent years. As a result, landlords are exiting the rental accommodation scheme and selling their properties, leaving families homeless. This is just one area of the rental sector where we can clearly see that the Bill before us would make matters worse.

Rent certainty is needed and the Fianna Fáil Party proposed measures, published in our policy document, Generation Rent, to stabilise rent prices immediately by restricting rents to an area-based rental index both within and between tenancies. This is similar to the model in operation in many German cities. The system would be in place for a maximum three-year period, pending annual reviews of the effects of the regulations on market supply.

What is equally required in the Irish context is a wide-ranging package of housing actions where each sector - public and private, rental and ownership, building and regulatory - is clearly managed. This would ensure that actions in one area would not cause difficulties in another.

I ask that the Bill be withdrawn to allow the all-party report to be discussed by all Deputies and enable the Dáil to serve as an example of new politics working on behalf of all people, rather than as a smokescreen for the old and cynical political game which only erodes trust in the ability of politics to resolve the housing crisis.

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