Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What has changed since Sinn Féin last tried to address spiralling rents with the introduction of a Bill in this House in June of this year? Is it change for the worse? This Government remains as ignorant and as inactive as ever. Rents have continued to rise. Tenants remain insecure in their homes. This Bill attempts to address these harsh difficulties with which people are faced.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil continue to abandon the people to the horrendous situation of spending a substantial, unsustainable amount of their income on rent and with this they have no security on the sale of their home by the landlord. This is all combined with the lack of social housing.

In my constituency of Dublin Bay North, I hear of people every day who are caught in this whirlwind of a housing crisis. These are people who are in chronic fear of the future due to fast rent increases and they do not know if they will have the very basic necessity of a having roof over their heads. Many of these people now find themselves facing homelessness. The Minister and the Government are leaving people to be beaten by the market forces because of their lack of action.

The laws concerning rent and security of tenancy are taken as a given in other countries but this seems to be completely lost on Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, much to the disadvantage of the people they are meant to serve. The Government is blind on the issue of secure rents and the security of tenancy. We need action and we need it now, and this Sinn Féin Bill will provide that action.

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