Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, Deputy Adams has not read this document. It is not ill-thought-out at all. It is the result of intensive discussions, negotiations and presentations in recent months. Some 500 submissions were sent to the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and they have been very carefully scrutinised. Of course, the starting point is the rental pressures in Cork and Dublin but that does not exclude other areas, and these are defined by sustained rental increases over a period that are above the national average. The RTB is being given extra resources to enable it to define those and by February it will have an answer to those questions of where rental pressure zones should be endorsed by and sanctioned by the Minister.

This year, 2016, 17,000 social housing units will be provided, not all new houses, but including returned voids, others that have been renovated and so on. Deputy Adams' idea seems to be that he wants to shut down supply entirely. He wants the Government to provide everything for everybody. He wants to have a cap right across the country which would simply stifle progress entirely. What is involved in this rental strategy is one of the five pillars of the comprehensive housing strategy provided by the Minister. It presents the opportunity for tenants to understand that their tenancies can continue. At the same time, it also ensures that there is a reasonable rate of return for private property let into the rental market and does not interfere with new houses or second-hand dwellings that are extensively renovated, even within rental pressure zones.

The fundamental issue is a supply problem. Due to the fact that the supply is not there, the rental situation has been exacerbated. We understand and appreciate the great difficulty that thousands of people have in respect of increasing rents in tenancies. That is why the Government is intervening here and is only doing so after very careful analysis of the conditions that should apply. The Fianna Fáil Party raised a number of issues and these are being discussed. I hope this House will see fit to let this legislation through this week, which will benefit thousands of people who are tenants in houses and who have a legitimate fear of or concern about rent rising. At the same time, it will not stultify supply of housing, as Deputy Adams would.

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