Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to amendment No. 55 and not make a Second Stage speech. I will be very brief. I spoke to a number of people last night in my constituency, which is to be designated as a rent pressure zone, and there was a great deal of fear among many of those who are renting privately. They are really struggling and the only certainty they see, which may be down to the narrative in this debate, is the probability that they will see rent increases of 4% for the next three years. It may not seem like much to say "4%", which is a total of 12% over the next three years, but then one looks at the actual figures for average rent prices in the rent pressure zones in Cork city. We have a couple of different sets of figures from daft.ieand the Residential Tenancies Board. If one looks at those figures, it is clear that there will be a massive increase in rents over the next three years.

The Minister knows as well as I do, because he lives in Cork, that the number of people losing the roofs over their heads because they cannot afford them is increasing all the time. What these people wanted and needed was a rent freeze. Even to pay the 4% increase in the first year somebody will have to come up with in excess of €500 additional rent. In year two, because the figure will be compounded, the person will have to come up with more than €800 extra. In year three it will be an extra €940 because we decided to go for what the Minister describes as rent certainty as opposed to rent affordability, which the debate should be about. By that I mean affordability for the tenants and for the landlords who are in it to make a profit. While we may disagree on the level of the profit they should make, that is the reality of the market.

In Cork city an increasing number of landlords do not rent their properties to one tenant but rent out rooms to several tenants. A property might have four separate tenancies. The average price for renting a single bed room in Cork is €384 a month. A double bed room costs €461 per month. A landlord with a four bedroom house might have four separate tenancies and would make a profit in excess of €200 a month. Will the Minister clarify whether his new formula is based on the number of tenancies or the property?

What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Varadkar, about how this policy-----

See this speech in context