Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Government appears to want people to save up for homes, but they cannot do so if rents are increasing by 25%. There is no point in putting money into the rent supplement or housing assistance payment schemes, as the Government has done, if there are no measures to control the surge in rents. All the Government is doing is putting State money directly into the hands of landlords. The inescapable reality is that people's salaries are not back to 2007 levels, but rents are now surging beyond 2007 levels. The Government must act now. I do not think it can leave it to the marketplace alone. When will the comprehensive strategy that was mentioned by the Taoiseach be published? Can we have a date for that? Will the Government include in the strategy legislation to create rent certainty into the future?

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