Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will try to stick to the rental amendment we are discussing. The rental sector is not working and is in crisis, as we know. It is a significant element of the housing problem. Less than a year ago, Fine Gael refused point blank to consider rent controls when the then Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, attempted to introduce them. It is through the work of Fianna Fáil that Fine Gael has finally conceded and begun to act, with a cap of 4%. Fianna Fáil's rental submission had 12 targeted actions and we have achieved progress on ten of them.

We continue to put housing at the top of our priority list, and as spokesperson I work closely with Deputy Barry Cowen to ensure the Government does not lose focus or water down the will of the Dáil to resolve the housing crisis. If these caps are quickly proved not to work Fianna Fáil is prepared to bring forward its own measures to bring greater certainty to tenants.

We also strongly believe there is a need to introduce tax incentives for landlords to relieve the considerable pressures on them. Rent controls need to be balanced with maintaining rent supply. I agree this is a delicate balancing act. The vast majority of landlords are responsible and anxious to keep their tenants. I will not demonise landlords for short-term political gain. A total of 88% of landlords own only one property. We need to transition from this unsustainable model.

Today is an historic first. These are the first rent certainty measures in the history of the State. Fianna Fáil will continue to listen to the people and put their needs first. There was a period of time yesterday when it looked as though we might not debate the Bill, which would have been a failure of the Dáil. I welcome that at least we have reached this point and I hope that from the debate so far we have learned further lessons on the fact the Dáil demands greater consultation on proposed housing measures from the Government. I hope future proposals are not handled in this way.

I also wish to take this opportunity to correct some misinformation that was stated twice in the House in the last 24 hours by Deputy Ó Broin. Let there be no doubt about it, Fianna Fáil did not get the details of these rental proposals prior to their general release. I was with Deputy Ó Broin in the committee when we were all presented with the amendments. They were on our desks when we returned to the committee room after a division in the Chamber.

I work closely with Deputy Cowen on our housing strategy. We are a party team tasked with delivering Fianna Fáil's policy on housing. Policy delivery, not ego, is our goal and it will remain our goal. Deputy Cowen and Fianna Fáil are solely focused on getting housing solutions delivered as best we can in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. We are not interested in grandstanding gestures or personalised name calling. Deputies who continue to follow such failed politics are condemning themselves. I welcome the Minister conceding that the major cities of Galway, Waterford and Limerick, along with the commuter counties of Wicklow, Meath, Kildare and Louth, must be assessed urgently and that this will take place in January. As a result of our work, up to 100,000 homes will now be protected against out-of-control rent increases. This is a start but we must build on it, no pun intended.

I have some reservations regarding the rental pressure zones. The Minister claims that the data are not available to create rental pressure zones outside the major urban centres. Having used the RTB website regularly, I believe it is possible to identify clearly the areas with increases that meet the criteria. Commuter belt towns such as Bray and Greystones can clearly be seen to have unsustainable rent increases. Equally, I have concerns about the Minister's proposal to look at it by local authority area and getting down to that level of detail. Consider a county such as Wicklow. While it is easy to recognise that the Bray and Greystones area meets the target, the average rent in more rural areas with towns such as Wicklow and Arklow will probably not meet it even though the core towns have huge rental pressures. That is also the case with Blessington on the other side of Wicklow. It is beside Tallaght and is under immense rental pressure, but in the local area of west Wicklow the rent will probably not qualify.

To conclude, I repeat my assertion that the Members of the House will be judged on their actions on the housing crisis. This is the first Bill to tackle that crisis, although more will be required. I also repeat my party's commitment to working constructively to ensure measures are working correctly or as intended. If a policy is not working, it must be fixed quickly. A common-sense approach is required. I acknowledge the Minister's acceptance of our amendments Nos. 3 and 4 to amendment No. 68.

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