Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Never have the views of so many been ignored by the Government and the Minister's colleagues in Fianna Fáil. Various homeless and housing bodies, such as the Peter McVerry Trust, Simon, Focus Ireland, Threshold, St. Vincent de Paul and many others, have pointed out consistently that the two main problems in this area are the building of social and affordable housing and the need for rent controls, or rent certainty as some people call it. The Minister has repeatedly said that he wants to avoid interference in the market. His Fianna Fáil colleagues have hinted at this time out of number. However, the Minister is applying a cap of 4% in one year and of 12% up to three years in designated areas. In effect, the Minister is interfering in the market.

Pressure from the Minister’s own ranks and Fianna Fáil’s, which have a disproportionate number of landlords among them, is obviously affecting him. Many of them have a conflict of interest in dealing with this. Normal guidelines, such as the consumer price index, which would see a drop in rents, are normally applied in most countries. There is also a good argument for affordability. Wages in the public and private sectors do not match these rent rises. Where in the near future will we have a 4% rise in wages or of 12% over a three-year period? That is a major problem. Most countries base their rents on one third or one quarter of the average industrial wage, which would be just over €600 in Ireland. Instead, our rent levels are multiples of this. In the Dublin North-West constituency, in Santry and Whitehall, rent for a three-bedroom house costs €1,700, while in Finglas it is in and around €1,500. How in God's name can people cope with those figures? This breaks down to between €350 and €500 a week in rent. Is the Minister in cloud cuckoo land? It does not make any sense. People on social welfare receive huge rent top ups from the State. These are way beyond what should be paid out. I am not saying for one minute we can stop them now. We are in this situation and we need to address it. However, we need to look at the future because it is unsustainable the way we are going.

The Minister spoke about rent pressures in Cork city and Dublin city which initially led to these rent cap percentages. His Fianna Fáil colleagues then jumped in, smelling victory, and called for the Minister to include other areas such as Meath, Wicklow, Limerick and the commuter belts. Have they realised that there is only a guarantee that these will be assessed? There is no guarantee that these areas will be included.

Property companies and gurus in the property market have lauded the amount of profits they are getting in this country. The profits are massive. How in God's name do we entice industry, emigrants or others to Ireland? How do we create jobs when there is no encouragement for anyone to come here with these rents? It just does not make sense. We have relied on the private market for the past several years. We have this whole agenda of a drive to privatisation. The State must take control and get the local authorities to build social and affordable housing.

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