Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I know from my own locality that they are not. I read these figures out the other day and will do so again. Even with the Minister's increased rent caps or HAP limits, rent levels in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown for a single one-bedroom dwelling are €1,800 per month, which is double the Minister's limit. Why would a private landlord enter into an arrangement with the Minister for a cap of €1,300 when average rents are €1,800? For a three-bedroom dwelling why would they enter into an arrangement with the Minister when the average rent is €2,200 and all they can get from him is €1,300? They will not do it and that is the problem. Sadly, I do not have time to go into the detail. As is so often the case, there is a reliance on the private sector and an ideological blindness. In addition, there is kowtowing to developers who say they cannot make enough profits which is why they will not build and deliver social and affordable housing. We keep kowtowing to them, however, but they still do not deliver, and we do not get the council housing we need to solve the problem.

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