Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The significant increases in rents we are seeing, particularly in urban areas, are primarily caused by a severe shortage in supply. The best way to address rents in the long term and benefit the entire sector is to increase the supply of rental accommodation and accelerate the delivery of housing for the private and social rented sectors. However, I acknowledge that short-term measures are also needed.

Pillar 4 of Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness commits to developing a comprehensive strategy for the rental sector. The strategy will include measures to address immediate issues affecting the supply, cost and accessibility of accommodation. In addition, it will consider measures to increase security of tenure and, in particular, the potential of new mechanisms for both setting and reviewing rents. There will also be a focus on maintaining existing levels of rental stock and encouraging investment in additional supply.

The rental strategy will provide a vision of the role the rental sector will play in the short, medium and long term in the context of the Government’s overall objectives for the housing sector. I expect it to be finalised by the middle of December. Some of the measures in the strategy will require supporting amendments to be made to the Residential Tenancies Act. However, other legislative changes are being accelerated for early enactment in the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016, which commenced Second Stage in the Seanad yesterday. Tenants and landlords alike will, therefore, see a number of improvements introduced arising from these legislative provisions.

The key challenge is to ensure the development of a viable and sustainable rental sector that can provide choice, quality, value and security for households, together with secure, attractive investment opportunities for rental providers.

My objective is to use the opportunity presented by the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016, which will come before the Dáil in early December, to make necessary amendments that are consistent with the rental strategy once it has been launched. These amendments will probably be made on Committee Stage in the Dáil. I hope I will be able to reflect the concerns expressed by a number of political parties and individuals in the consultation process. I will try to find a balance that will ensure continued investment and supply and provide an appropriate response to the difficult conditions in which many tenants find themselves as a result of rental inflation.

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